WA317950158 - CSS POTATO FARMS LLC

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, WA317950158 - CSS POTATO FARMS LLC — a potato farming facility located at 215 N VENTURE, PASCO, WA 99301 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 29 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $20,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2018-07-19.

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.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 5.2 per 100 full-time workers — 93% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 20.1 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $20,000.00 is more than 6.8× the national average of $2,920.96 for facilities in the Agriculture sector (NAICS 111211). This sector encompasses 23,483 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $68.6M.

State Context: Within WA, this facility's penalty places it at the 99th percentile among 126,183 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $1,683.96.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 29 citations spanning 0 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 14 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 1 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 October 5, 2018 with the latest abatement deadline set for March 7, 2019. Of the 29 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 $20,000.00 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 $689.66 falls within the standard penalty range.

The 2018 inspection of CSS Potato Farms LLC revealed a pervasive breakdown in fundamental safety management systems, evidenced by a high volume of serious violations spanning administrative, operational, and chemical safety domains. The concentration of citations under WAC 296-307—specifically concerning the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) for pesticides, respiratory protection, and heat exposure—indicates a systemic failure to protect field and warehouse employees from chronic health hazards. For workers, these deficiencies translated into immediate risks of pesticide poisoning, heat-related illness, and respiratory distress due to inadequate training, lack of decontamination supplies, and non-existent medical evaluations for respirator use. The $2