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# Monroe County plans chemical safety program in effort to avoid proposed $3K fine by IOSHA
- URL: https://bsquarebulletin.com/monroe-county-to-make-written-safety-plan-to-avoid-3k-fine-for-chemical-violation-at-justice-center/
- Published: 2026-10-19T20:13:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-19T20:24:40.000Z
- Description: Indiana workplace safety inspectors say they'll impose a $3K penalty against Monroe County for lacking a written chemical safety plan, unless such a program is created by a Nov. 12 deadline. The finding followed an August drain-cleaner incident that sickened justice center workers.
- Author: Dave Askins
- Tags: Local Government, #no-inline-feature

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/20/6f/206f9007-c0a7-47d4-b87b-686c21961f22/content/images/2026/10/2026-10-15-IOSHA-letter-PXL_20261019_192409503-1.jpg)

Ant's eye view of the [penalty letter](https://bloomdocs.org/wp-content/uploads/simple-file-list/2026-10-15-IOSHA-Monroe-County-letter.pdf) from IOSHA to Monroe County government dated Oct. 15, 2026\. 

Indiana workplace safety inspectors have [proposed a $3,000 penalty](https://bloomdocs.org/wp-content/uploads/simple-file-list/2026-10-15-IOSHA-Monroe-County-letter.pdf ) against Monroe County for lacking a written safety program for employees handling hazardous chemicals at the justice building.

An Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) report ties the finding directly to an Aug. 4 incident, saying: “Appropriate employee training on the use of the drain cleaner may have prevented the 8/4 incident from occurring.”

On that day (Aug. 4), jail maintenance workers used Liquid Fire drain cleaner, causing a [strong rotten-egg odor spread through the building](https://bsquarebulletin.com/use-of-drain-cleaner-fills-monroe-county-justice-building-with-rotten-egg-odor-workers-report-vomiting-nausea/). Employees reported vomiting, nausea, headaches and watery eyes. 

The Oct. 15 [order](https://bloomdocs.org/wp-content/uploads/simple-file-list/2026-10-15-IOSHA-Monroe-County-letter.pdf) says the county “failed to develop, implement or maintain a written hazard communication program” for employees handling hazardous chemicals, including Liquid Fire Drain Line Opener. IOSHA classified the violation as serious and proposed a $3,000 penalty. That is the order’s proposed penalty for the missing written safety program. It’s not a penalty stemming from the odor incident itself.

The fine is only “proposed,” because the county government has until Nov. 12 to correct the violation by creating a written safety plan. As the IOSHA [letter to the county legal department](https://bloomdocs.org/wp-content/uploads/simple-file-list/2026-10-15-IOSHA-letter-to-Monroe-County-legal-department.pdf ) puts it: “It is IOSHA’s intention to work cooperatively with you in improving the safety and health conditions of our public sector employees.” The letter seems to indicate that Monroe County government’s working conditions are being handled differently from the way a private sector workplace would be treated.

County attorney Jeff Cockerill told The B Square the county intends to create the written safety plan by the deadline.

The inspection report also places the citation against a backdrop of several other problems at the Charlotte T. Zietlow Justice Center. A July 24 [sewage backup sent wastewater through ceilings](https://bsquarebulletin.com/oct-19-2026-no-kings-rally-plate-reader-ban-6-87m-bond-plan-immigration-court-ruling-jail-pop-below-threshold/) into offices below, closing the building for several days. On Aug. 17, [condensation got into a clerk’s-office light fixture](https://bsquarebulletin.com/initial-report-monroe-county-clerks-office-closed-due-to-condensation-into-light-fixtures/) and caused it to spark, prompting repairs and a temporary closure of the office. 

In its Oct. 15 report, IOSHA lists the inspection period as Aug. 11 through Sept. 25\. Its report discusses all three incidents and says the agency received seven separate complaints about conditions at the justice building. The report includes follow-up information from additional complainants after IOSHA’s site visit.

IOSHA didn’t issue a safety order over the sewage backup itself or the odor itself. But the report separately cites the county government for not providing complete injury logs within four business hours. That cited violation was corrected during the inspection and carries no proposed penalty.