KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine—The employer of two men who died after inhaling sewer gases at a job site in Kennebunkport last month says he will likely challenge proposed federal fines of nearly $17,000.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed the fines after 58-year-old Winfield Studley of Windsor and 70-year-old Richard Kemp of Monmouth died from inhalation of hydrogen sulfide while working on a pump inside a sewer tank at a motel.
OSHA cited Stevens Electric & Pump Service for failure to ventilate the work area and for failing to have a rescue procedure in place.
Company owner Tim Stevens tells the Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/v1vMh6) all of the required ventilation, monitoring and safety equipment was at the job site, but for some unexplained reason, the two men chose not to use it.
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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com
