Red Line Conditions Draw Fines : Metro Rail: State and federal inspectors issue 52 citations, but they say the work sites are not excessively hazardous.

A team of federal and state safety inspectors investigating persistent allegations of unsafe working conditions on the Metro Red Line subway project has issued 52 citations and levied more than $3,000 in fines, but said the work sites were not excessively hazardous.

The most citations, 46, were “general� or “regulatory,� which are the least severe types of violations, Cal/OSHA spokesman Rick Rice said. Five were for “serious� safety breaches, such as faulty electrical gear and a lack of hearing protection for workers in noisy areas. The one remaining citation was based on federal law regarding safe access to the work site.

Starting June 1, general and serious violations carry fines of at least $10,000 each, Rice said. Most citations were issued this month, but because the inspection began in May, the contractors are liable only for the lower fines in effect at that time.

Contractors can appeal citations and, if successful, have them expunged, Rice said.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission said that the Red Line construction project’s incident rate--the rate at which accidents occur--has fallen to 36.13 this year, or about 2.5 times the national average. That is down sharply from 43.13 at the end of April.

Using actual injuries so far, the incident rate estimates the percentage of workers likely to suffer a “recordable injury�--generally, one requiring prescription medicine or a hospital visit--in an entire work year. At the current rate, 36.13% of the workers on the Red Line project would suffer a recordable injury in a year.

In releasing copies of the citations Thursday, Cal/OSHA officials said that they may still find additional violations for such things as inaccurate bookkeeping and explosive-gas testing before the investigation concludes Tuesday.

Cal/OSHA officials called on federal investigators for help in May to run down repeated whistle-blower allegations of safety problems on the project. Some allegations, such as inaccurate records on accidents and injuries, have been confirmed by outside consultants brought in by the transportation commission’s Rail Construction Corp. subsidiary.

Coincidentally, the commission plans to release two more reports by the same consultant today. They deal with other whistle-blower allegations of shoddy construction and inadequate testing for methane and other potentially explosive gases that permeate the ground through which tunnels are being dug.

“We’re finding some serious violations, but not of a magnitude that indicates the place is out of control,� said Frank Strassheim, regional administrator for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “Is the tunnel down there safe? Well, no. But it’s not a disaster waiting to happen, either.

“We certainly don’t have any hazards indicating the place is about to blow up.�

However, Rice said contractors knew that inspectors were planning to pore over the underground construction sites long before they arrived because they had to undergo extensive safety training. Contractors trained the inspectors. Rice said this should not be a problem in the future, because the fully trained inspectors now can make surprise visits when they make the conduct follow-up inspections.

The citations and incident rates relate to the second leg of the Red Line, one part of which is being tunneled beneath Wilshire Boulevard west of downtown.

Not included in the state-federal probe is the Red Line’s first segment between MacArthur Park and Union Station, scheduled to begin operating March 15.

By far, most of the citations, 43, were issued either to the project’s general contractor, Tutor-Saliba Corp. of Sylmar, or Tutor-Saliba/Perini, a joint venture in which Tutor-Saliba is the managing partner. This ratio would be expected, safety inspectors said, because the Tutor entities are doing most of the project’s heavy work.

Dynatran, a Carson-based division of Dynalectric Co., was issued one serious and four general citations.