GOLD KIST INC. SC POULTRY DIV.

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, GOLD KIST INC. SC POULTRY DIV. — a poultry processing facility located at 2050 HWY. 15 SOUTH, SUMTER, SC 29150 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 90 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $175,535.00. The inspection case was opened on 2003-01-29.

This facility represents one of the most severe enforcement actions in the OSHA SVEP database. Willful violations combined with penalties exceeding $100,000 indicate a pattern of deliberate non-compliance that poses an imminent danger to workers.

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 $175,535.00 is more than 20.6× the national average of $8,527.19 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 311615). This sector encompasses 24,420 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $208.2M.

State Context: Within SC, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 39,390 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $977.57.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 90 citations spanning 5 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 13 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 willful — The employer intentionally and knowingly committed the violation, demonstrating either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the OSH Act or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning July 17, 1998 with the latest abatement deadline set for September 9, 2003. Of the 90 total citations, 4 (4%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $175,535.00 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 $1,950.39 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement record for this poultry processing facility reveals a catastrophic breakdown in Process Safety Management (PSM) and emergency preparedness, evidenced by the staggering volume of 90 citations and a penalty exceeding $175,000. The presence of multiple willful violations under 29 CFR 1910.120(q) signifies a heightened level of legal culpability, indicating that management either acted with intentional disregard for safety regulations or demonstrated plain indifference to worker protection during hazardous substance releases. For the workforce, these failures translated into a high-risk environment where an ammonia leak—a common hazard