Dive Brief:

• AB InBev was cited for eight "serious" safety violations at its Anheuser-Busch brewery in Columbus, OH.
• The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said an inspection uncovered problems with the brewery's use of anhydrous ammonia in refrigeration systems. Anhydrous ammonia, a flammable material that is corrosive to skin, eyes, and lungs, is common in industrial refrigeration systems.
• The plant, which makes Budweiser and Budweiser Light, faces fines of less than $100,000 for the violations.

Dive Insight:

Of the eight violations found at the Columbus brewery, two of them -- involving documentation of safety systems -- are "repeat" citations that OSHA has noticed previously. In addition, AB InBev was cited in 2010 for similar problems at a plant in Georgia. The total in fines that AB InBev faces in the Ohio incident is $92,400.

It's worth noting that a) ammonia is nasty and dangerous stuff; b) OSHA seems to find violations like the one at AB InBev more and more often of late; c) there's an accident involving ammonia seemingly day after day after day. 

Given all that, some are saying that fines from OSHA should be large enough to force manufactures to really take notice. Perhaps proposed fines less than six figures isn't the answer.