BOULDER CITY, Nev., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Nearly 60 health and safety violations, 50 regarded as serious, were discovered at Hoover Dam in Nevada, federal inspectors said.
The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported Monday it found eight repeat violations and 50 it called serious, with a high chance of causing death or injury, at the dam southeast of Las Vegas.
The alleged serious violations include fall hazards, electrical hazards, a lack of guards on machinery, inadequate personal protective equipment, lead contamination and the potential for overexposure to hexavalent chromium, which can cause lung cancer, respiratory irritation and eye and skin damage, OSHA said.
The U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamations, which operates the dam, said on its website Monday it has begun "aggressive steps" to address the problems mentioned in the OSHA report.
The dam, which opened in 1935, employs about 250 people, the Las Vegas Sun reported Tuesday.
