PETROLIA Indspec Chemical has been cited for $121,500 in penalties for alleged safety and health violations in a chemical release in October.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, today announced the fines.

OSHA initiated its investigation on Oct. 11 after being notified of a chemical release at the company's facility that resulted in the evacuation of residents living in a three-mile radius.

The leak was oleum, a sulfuric acid like substance, which evaporated causing a fog in the effected area.

After a five-month investigation, OSHA has issued citations for 27 alleged serious violations, according to an OSHA news release.

Dave Dorko, Indspec Petrolia plant manager, said the company worked with all agencies that investigated the incident, and while the company believes that "some of the agency's violations are incorrect, we will be discussing them with OSHA to clarify any misunderstandings."

The alleged violations cited by OSHA deal with hazards associated with safety management, hazardous waste operations and emergency response, including failure to identify all of the causal factors of the incident during the investigation, failure to secure employee input on process safety management operating procedures, failure to provide employees with proper respiratory protection, inadequate process hazard analysis, inaccurate and ambiguous operating procedures, inadequate training and a deficient emergency response plan.

The Petrolia plant employs about 260 workers. Those workers, however, were laid off in March. The layoff, or idling, of the plant is scheduled to last for three months.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA director in Pittsburgh or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.