Gas driller, Target Drilling, located in Smithton, Pennsylvania, was recently fined by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violations it uncovered while investigating the death of an employee that occurred this past summer. Though serious, the violations were determined to have not been the cause of the worker's death.

Initially, the death of the 20-year-old man, employed by the gas driller, was thought to possibly be due to electrocution. However, the coroner who conducted the autopsy on the worker determined his death was actually due to an overdose of illegal drugs.

According to OSHA, 14 violations characterized as serious were discovered over the course of the investigation. In addition, two lesser violations were also uncovered. One of the more serious violations the company was cited for was the failure to use properly listed and labeled electrical equipment.

Worker safety is an issue that is important to most employees in the United States. The country takes this matter seriously as is illustrated by OSHA's actions. It is the job of this federal agency to create and enforce safety measures in workplaces throughout the country. Enforcement is achieved through inspections and fines for the violations discovered. The inspections may be prompted by worker complaints or as a follow-up to a previous inspection. In addition, as was the case in the inspection of the gas drilling company, they may be initiated after an injury or death due to what is a suspected workplace accident.

In this instance, OSHA has fined the gas driller $53,200 for the violations.

Source: York Dispatch, "OSHA wants $53K from Pa. gas driller for citations," The Associated Press, Jan. 19, 2012