The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) faces proposed penalties of $84,748 after the Puerto Rico Occupational Safety and Health Administration (PR-OSHA) identified labor safety standard violations at the San Fernando pumping station in Cataño, the Servidores Públicos Unidos de Puerto Rico union reported on Friday. The inspection found obstructed evacuation routes, inadequate emergency action plans, and un inspected fire extinguishers.
The DRNA has until November 5 to correct most of the identified violations, and the union is urging DRNA Secretary Waldemar Quiles to act. The union is calling for immediate action to address the safety concerns, including implementing a real emergency plan and ensuring employees have minimum safety conditions to perform their work. The union’s president, Jessica Martínez Santos, stated that the identified conditions reflect safety problems that also affect other pumping stations in the country.