Disneyland Faces Hefty Fines for Safety Citations

ORANGE COUNTY, CA -- Disneyland executives have not decided whether to appeal pending fines up to  $234,850 due in part to an accident on Space Mountain and are working with the state on six citations issued to the Anaheim theme park, a spokeswoman said today.

"We have received notification of the citations and are working with (the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA) to fully review them," Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said.

Fines totaling $234,850 would be the maximum and could be reduced. Disneyland was notified Friday about three "general" citations, three "willful" citations and one labeled "serious, accident-related."

The "willful" citations carry fines of $70,000 each, and the accident- related notice has a maximum fine of $22,500.

Disneyland has until Thursday to file an intent to appeal.

Some of the fines are related to the serious injury of a contract worker who fell while doing  exterior maintenance on Space Mountain.

Cal/OSHA also found that Disneyland officials completed "Fall Protection Assessment Reports" in August 2006 and "failed to adequately correct these known fall hazards that existed on the exterior of Space Mountain," the agency reported. "Furthermore, Disneyland Resort failed to have approved anchorages or approved tie-backs for contract employees to attach to when performing scheduled exterior building maintenance.

A 37-year-old employee of HSG Inc. was in a bosun's chair when it came loose from an anchor and he fell 20-30 feet Nov. 21, according to Cal/OSHA. The man broke his left leg and right collarbone, as well as some ribs.

An investigation of HSG Inc. was still ongoing, Erika Monterroza of Cal/OSHA said.

Disneyland voluntarily closed Space Mountain and the Matterhorn Boblseds ride this past weekend, and the Soarin' Over California ride at the at the Disney California Adventure also was closed. The Matterhorn Bobsleds were reopened Sunday.

"We constantly strive to maintain a safe work environment for our cast members and contractors -- and we are reviewing certain protocols," Brown said.

Disneyland is conducting an internal review of its safety protocols, Brown said.

- City News Service