The US Occupational Safety & Health Administration has fined Anocoil Corp USD15,000 after a fatal forklift accident in August. OSHA identified insufficient forklift training as a contributing factor.

Dave Turner died when a forklift pinned him against a compactor on August 18. The Hartford Courant reported that OSHA found Turner had not set the brake or chocked the forklift's wheels. The 16,000-pound (7.2-tonne) forklift rolled down an incline and crushed Turner against the compactor.

OSHA fined Anocoil USD22,776, but reduced the penalty to USD15,000 after the company agreed to hire a consultant to evaluate materials handling and forklift procedures at its Rockville and Enfield plants. The consultant's report must be received by OSHA by February 2005.

Among the violations noted in a 33-page inspection report were the absence of seat belts on two forklifts, employees wearing conductive materials such as wedding rings while working with electricity, and the use of insufficient gloves while working with corrosive liquids.