152060 - CLARIOS, LLC

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, 152060 - CLARIOS, LLC — a other electrical equipment and component manufacturing facility located at 2701 POWERING PROGRESS DRIVE, KERNERSVILLE, NC 27284 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 8 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $26,102.00. The inspection case was opened on 2022-06-09.

DOL records document workplace safety violations warranting formal citation under the OSH Act. While classified at the standard enforcement level, all OSHA citations require corrective action and may indicate areas where workplace safety programs should be strengthened.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 3.3 per 100 full-time workers — 22% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 2.3 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $26,102.00 is more than 4.1× the national average of $6,436.62 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 335911). This sector encompasses 82,943 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $533.9M.

State Context: Within NC, this facility's penalty places it at the 99th percentile among 88,256 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $1,699.39.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 8 citations spanning 3 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 6 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 2 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning December 6, 2022 with the latest abatement deadline set for January 27, 2023. Of the 8 total citations, 0 (0%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $26,102.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $3,262.75 falls within the standard penalty range.

The inspection of the Clarios battery manufacturing facility revealed a concentrated breakdown in lead exposure management, a critical risk factor in NAICS 335911. The citations focused heavily on 29 CFR 1910.1025, specifically targeting the failure to implement effective engineering and work practice controls to maintain lead levels below the permissible exposure limit. For workers, these lapses translated into a heightened risk of systemic lead poisoning, which can cause chronic neurological, renal, and reproductive damage. The presence of violations related to hygiene facilities and housekeeping further suggests that the employer failed to mitigate the risk of cross-contamination and ingestion, a fundamental pillar of lead safety. The penalty of $26,102, while mid-range for the industry, reflects a serious assessment of the facility’s failure to maintain a robust medical surveillance and training program. The inclusion of respiratory protection and hazard communication violations indicates that the safety program lacked the necessary integration to protect employees from inhalation hazards. Rather than being isolated incidents, the cluster of lead-specific citations points toward a systemic failure in the facility’s industrial hygiene program. For legal and compliance professionals, this record demonstrates a vulnerability in the employer’s ability to demonstrate "good faith