WHEELING PITTSBURGH STEEL
According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, WHEELING PITTSBURGH STEEL — a industry sector 00 facility located at 219 PUBLIC RD., YORKVILLE, OH 43971 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 143 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $223,540.00. The inspection case was opened on 1991-07-02.
Cumulative penalties significantly exceed the national median for OSHA enforcement actions. The penalty amount suggests multiple high-gravity citations, indicating conditions that presented a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to employees.
Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $223,540.00 is more than 186.9× the national average of $1,195.75 for facilities in the Other sector (NAICS 000000). This sector encompasses 1,316,687 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $1,574.4M.
State Context: Within OH, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 91,405 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,818.37.
Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 143 citations spanning 8 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 2 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 13 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 November 4, 1993 with the latest abatement deadline set for December 31, 2006. Of the 143 total citations, 12 (8%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.
Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $223,540.00 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 $1,563.22 falls within the standard penalty range.
The enforcement profile of Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel’s Yorkville facility revealed a systemic breakdown in fundamental safety management, characterized by a staggering volume of 143 citations that indicated a culture of institutionalized neglect. The sheer breadth of the violations, spanning respiratory protection, noise exposure, and walking-working surfaces, suggested that hazards were not merely overlooked but were a pervasive element of the operational environment. The imposition of over $223,000 in penalties—an extraordinary sum for the early 1990s—reflected the gravity of the risk profile and signaled that OSHA viewed the facility’s non-compliance as a high-magnitude threat to life and limb. For workers, these conditions meant daily exposure to unmitigated industrial hazards, including respiratory toxins and catastrophic fall risks, exacerbated by a failure to provide basic protective safeguards. The inclusion of General Duty Clause violations alongside specialized standards for electrical safety and sanitation indicated that the employer failed to address even the most recognized industry hazards. This was not a case of isolated mechanical failure, but rather a comprehensive collapse of the safety and health program. The resulting enforcement action served as a clear regulatory rebuke of a management structure that prioritized production over the basic statutory requirements for a safe workplace.