Cal-OSHA Cites Six Employers for Exposing Workers to Valley Fever

Tuesday, November 21, 2017 | 0

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined six employers a total of $241,950 for exposing workers to valley fever at a solar project construction site in Monterey County.

The agency, commonly referred to as Cal-OSHA, said a general contractor and five subcontractors at the California Flats Solar Project in Cholame Hills failed to provide appropriate respiratory protection to workers.

As a result, workers were exposed to the microscopic fungus Coccidiodes immitis, which lives in the top 2 to 12 inches of soil in many parts of the state. Fungal spores are released when soil is disturbed by digging and high winds, and can be inhaled by workers.

General contractor McCarthy Building Cos. Inc was fined $46,540. Subcontractor Granite Construction Co. Inc was fined $46,590, and Sachs Electric Co. was fined $46,400.

Dudek was fined $23,620, and another subcontractor, Althouse and Meade Inc., was find $9,900.

Papich Construction Co. Inc. received a $68,900 penalty because of a repeat violation. Cal-OSHA said the company was cited for failure to provide respiratory protection to workers in 2013.