Spanaway cabinet shop fined $107,000 for safety violations

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries has cited a Spanaway cabinet company for 29 serious health violations, with penalties ranging from $4,200 to $1,600 each, the agency announced Monday.

Viking Cabinets Inc. has been fined $107,000 for exposing workers to fire hazards from flammable liquids, chemical exposure and other workplace health risks at its cabinet manufacturing shop, L&I said.

“Eight of the serious violations were related to unsafe use and storage of flammable liquids, vapors and spray,” the L&I release stated. “The inspection found that large quantities of flammable liquids were kept in the work area where they could contribute to a fire, instead of being safely stored away. Ventilation wasn’t adequate for removing flammable vapors and mists from the air to prevent fire. Combustible fine wood dust had accumulated on the electrical system and other surfaces in the shop, creating an additional fire hazard.”

The inspection also found workers were required to enter a large dust-collection silo, referred to as a “bag house,” to perform routine maintenance without required confined space safety precautions being in place. Thirteen of the serious violations were for confined space hazards.

In addition to the serious violations, the company was also cited for five general violations that did not carry a fine. Since the inspection, Viking has taken steps to remedy many of the workplace health violations that were cited, L&I said.

Randy Larson, Viking owner, said Tuesday, “I think it’s pretty unfair. A lot of the things that are on there are questionable. We are going to appeal. We’ve been in business a long time, and we’ve never had anything like this happen to us before.”

The company has 15 days to appeal the citation.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 5:48 AM with the headline "Spanaway cabinet shop fined $107,000 for safety violations."