TAUBENSEE STEEL & WIRE CO.

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, TAUBENSEE STEEL & WIRE CO. — a industry sector 00 facility located at 3200 OHIO DRIVE, HENDERSON, KY 42420 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 28 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $28,875.00. The inspection case was opened on 1998-08-12.

The volume of citations issued during this inspection suggests systematic compliance deficiencies rather than isolated incidents. Facilities with 10 or more citations typically face comprehensive abatement requirements and may be subject to follow-up inspections.

State Context: Within KY, this facility's penalty places it at the 99th percentile among 26,562 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,754.01.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 28 citations spanning 6 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 3 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 12 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning September 25, 1998 with the latest abatement deadline set for December 10, 2012. Of the 28 total citations, 12 (43%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $28,875.00 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 $1,031.25 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement record for Taubensee Steel & Wire Co. reveals a profound systemic failure regarding Permit-Required Confined Space (PRCS) management, representing an existential threat to employee safety. The concentration of serious violations under 1910.146 indicates that the employer failed at nearly every foundational level of the standard, including hazard identification, entry permit procedures, and the provision of adequate rescue and emergency services. In a steel and wire manufacturing context, these lapses suggest that workers were likely exposed to atmospheric hazards, engulfment risks, or mechanical entrapment without the regulatory safeguards necessary to prevent fatalities. The $28,875 penalty, while modest by modern standards, was significant for the late 1990s and reflects the gravity of multiple "Serious" citations issued simultaneously. The pattern of violations—ranging from failing to inform employees of the existence of confined spaces to the absence of a written program and inadequate entry oversight—points toward a programmatic collapse rather than isolated human error. This level of non-compliance demonstrates a lack of institutional safety culture, as the employer neglected the highly technical requirements for monitoring and evacuating hazardous environments. For EHS professionals, this case serves as a textbook example of how a facility can become a "near-miss" site for a multi-fatality event through the wholesale disregard of specialized safety protocols.