Postal Service cited for electrical hazards at North Side facility

The U.S. Postal Service is facing more than $60,000 in fines after being cited by OSHA for electrical hazards at a distribution center in the North Side Lincoln Park neighborhood.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration received a complaint about unsafe working conditions at the mail-sorting facility at 2643 N. Clark, according to a statement from the federal agency.

OSHA launched an investigation and found workers were exposed to various electrical hazards. It issued two repeat, four serious and one other-than-serious violation, according to the agency.

The investigators found electrical power taps were not used in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations; and electrical equipment, including an industrial fan, was not grounded properly, according to the statement.

The postal service was cited for similar violations in 2014 in Groton, Conn.; and Ludington, Mich.

The latest citations carry proposed penalties of $63,540.

“The Postal Service has a responsibility to make sure equipment is maintained in good working order,” OSHA’s area director Angeline Loftus said in the statement.

“Each year hundreds of workers are injured by electrical hazards in the workplace. The Postal Service needs to re-evaluate this facility and correct these hazards immediately,” she said.