Ultium — a joint venture between General Motors and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution to produce battery cells for the automaker’s electric vehicles — reported the incident Monday to the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has opened an investigation into the matter.
OSHA spokesperson Scott Allen said the agency is collecting information from Ultium “as to the details of what happened, what actions they took to address them and whether employees are still at risk.”
Based on the information received, OSHA will then determine whether employees were exposed to a significant hazard, whether actions taken by Ultium were appropriate and whether there is enough information to establish a potential violation of workplace safety and health standards to warrant citations, Allen said.
OSHA has six open inspections at Ultium’s Warren plant and five closed inspections.
To date, the company has paid $31,078 in fines for violations of OSHA workplace laws. In some cases, penalties were reduced or waived, Allen said.
