Worker Killed In Accident At Oakland Plastics Factory
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - A worker who was killed in an industrial accident at an East Oakland plastics company Thursday was a forklift operator who was trying to service a forklift, a Cal/OSHA spokesman said.
Peter Melton of Cal/OSHA said the worker at Super Link Plastics Inc. at 888 92nd Ave., identified by Oakland police as a 34-year-old Oakland man, was using one forklift to lift up and service a second forklift when the second forklift came down and crushed his head.
Oakland police said they received a 911 call from the company about the accident at 9:43 a.m. Thursday and when officers arrived the man wasn't breathing.
The Oakland Fire Department and Paramedics Plus responded and pronounced the man dead, police said.
Melton said Cal/OSHA's investigation into the accident will focus on whether Super Link Plastics implemented adequate safety measures and training for its forklift operations. He said the agency has six months to complete its probe.
Melton said after Cal/OSHA officials conducted a routine inspection at the company in November 2011 they issued two violations for minor seat belt and electrical issues and proposed a $395 fine, but the company has challenged the findings.
He said a Super Link Plastic worker sprained his ankle when he fell while disposing of garbage at a public garbage facility on May 2, 2011, but after Cal/OSHA investigated the matter it decided not to cite the company.
According to its website, Super Link Plastics was founded in 1993 "with a vision of increasing the value of recyclable scrap."
Its mission is "to become a leading innovative waste solutions company in the United States," and the company claims to recycle an average of 80 million pounds of waste a year.
Its customers include public companies, medium and large private companies, small businesses, government, health care businesses and colleges and universities, according to the website.
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