USA: Cemex fined US$400,000 over negligence at Kosmos Cement

Cemex-owned Kosmos Cement has pleaded guilty to negligence over its failure to comply with health and safety standards , which contributed to the death of a contractor.

The company was fined US$400,000, of which US$200,000 is payable immediately. The remaining US$200,000 will be waived if Cemex upgrades the facilities at its plant in Louisville, Kentucky, to the required standard, adopts a written maintenance control programme and allows on-site inspections by state officials.

According to the US Department of Justice, agents and employees of the company were aware that an elevator at its old finish mill was defective, but had not moved to fix the fault. This resulted in the death of a contractor in February 2014.

United States Attorney, John Kuhn, said: "This is one of the worst cases of negligence on the part of a company”, adding “improper maintenance resulted in an employee's death.”