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Early this morning, the Eaton Rapids Meridian Magnesium factory caught fire. Timothy Dunham, who works at the plant, got it on video. Timothy Dunham, Lansing State Journal
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A morning fire at Meridian Magnesium Products of America, Inc. in Eaton Rapids created heavy damage to the building.
(Photo: Matthew Dae Smith | Lansing State Journal)Buy Photo
EATON RAPIDS — The Eaton Rapids auto parts plant that exploded and burned on Wednesday has a history of recent safety violations.
Two people were injured and more than 100 employees were evacuated from Meridian Magnesium Products of America after a fire and multiple explosions rocked the small community southeast of Charlotte.
The plant has been cited for seven safety violations — at least three of them serious — since 2014, according to online records.
The most recent violation was found in a November 2016 inspection, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration records.
Details of the violations are scarce in the online records. But the plant was found to be in violation of Michigan OSHA standards relating to worker safety around electrical equipment, die-casting machines and industrial trucks.
The company was fined a total of $6,700 for those violations, the records show.
Meridian Magnesium did not respond Wednesday to questions about the past violations.
In a statement, General Manager George Asher said the company followed protocols during the fire and explosions Wednesday.
“Safety is our primary concern,” the statement said. “We will provide more information as soon as we are able.”
RELATED: Two people injured, more than 100 evacuated after fire and explosions at Meridian Magnesium
Contact Justin A. Hinkley at (517) 377-1195 or jhinkley@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley. Sign up for his email newsletter, SoM Weekly, at on.lsj.com/somsignup.
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