OSHA Cites Seafood Processor Following Worker Death in Ice Machine
OSHA has cited Northern Wind Inc., a New Bedford, MA, seafood processor, for 23 alleged violations and $66,800 in penalties after a worker was killed on May 4 when he became caught in the moving parts of a large industrial ice-making machine that activated while he was performing maintenance work inside it.
OSHA found that the plant lacked specific steps and procedures to power down and lock out the ice machine’s power source before employees entered it. The agency’s investigation also found that workers were not trained to recognize and address the hazard of the machine operating without warning. In addition, the plant lacked a program and employee training for working in confined spaces, such as the ice machine, and ladders were not available to ensure safe entry and exit from the ice machine.
Additionally, OSHA’s inspection identified unmarked exit doors and a lack of emergency exit route lighting, no eyewash or drenching facilities for employees working with corrosive chemicals, a lack of material safety data sheets and chemical hazard communication training, unguarded open-sided floors, a missing safety latch on a hoisting hook and several electrical-related hazards.
All told, these conditions resulted in the issuance of 19 serious citations, with $62,800 in proposed fines. The company also has been fined $4,000 for four other-than-serious hazards, including incomplete recording of injuries and illnesses. The combined penalties total $66,800.
OSHA issues proposed rule to adopt the Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication System
WASHINGTON - A proposed rule to align the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) with provisions of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) will be published in the September 30 Federal Register.
The current HCS requires chemical manufacturers and importers to evaluate the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import and provide information to subsequent users. The current standard requires all employers to have a hazard communication program for workers exposed to hazardous chemicals. The program includes materials such as container labels, safety data sheets, and employee training.
A number of countries, including the United States, international organizations and stakeholders participated in developing the GHS to address inconsistencies in hazard classification and communications. The GHS was developed to provide a single, harmonized system to classify chemicals, labels and safety data sheets with the primary benefit of increasing the quality and consistency of information provided to workers, employers and chemical users. Under the GHS, labels would include signal words, pictograms, and hazard and precautionary statements. Additionally, information on safety data sheets would be presented in a designated order.
“The proposal to align the hazard communication standard with the GHS will improve the consistency and effectiveness of hazard communications and reduce chemical-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. “Following the GHS approach will increase workplace safety, facilitate international trade in chemicals, and generate cost savings from production efficiencies for firms that manufacture and use hazardous chemicals.”
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, and education. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
WASHINGTON - Hazard Communication Guidance for Combustible Dusts(PDF) is a new guidance document recently published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that is intended to assist chemical manufacturers and importers in recognizing the potential for dust explosions, identifying appropriate protective measures and the requirements for disseminating this information on material safety data sheets and labels.
OSHA goes on to state that combustible dusts are solids finely ground into fine particles, fibers, chips, chunks or flakes that can cause a fire or explosion when suspended in air under certain conditions. Types of dusts include metal (aluminum and magnesium), wood, plastic or rubber, biosolids, coal, organic (such as flour, sugar and paper, among others), and dusts from certain textiles.
The document addresses the combustible dust hazards in relation to the Hazard Communication Standard, which is designed to ensure that chemical hazards are evaluated and the information concerning them is transmitted to employers and workers.
“Recent events have shown the devastation of combustible dust explosions resulting in worker loss of life and injuries,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. “This guidance document is a useful resource to prevent potentially catastrophic events.”
OSHA is proposing $145,800 in penalties against SKAPS Industries for 32 safety and health violations that exposed workers to possible injury or death at their three locations in Athens, Commerce and Pendergrass, Ga.
SKAPS Industries is a fabricator of geosynthetic and nonwoven drainage products for environmental and civil use. The Athens and Pendergrass plants are each being cited for one willful violation with a proposed penalty of $44,000 for audiograms not being conducted annually for exposing workers to harmful noise. The agency defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
The three locations are being cited with a total of 24 serious violations and $51,800 in proposed penalties for not developing or implementing a written hazards communication program, having unmarked emergency exits, not instructing the affected operators with lockout and tag-out requirements and a lack of protection from arc welding rays and electrical hazards. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Additionally, the Pendergrass plant is receiving four other-than-serious violations carrying a $3,000 fine for not correctly filling out OSHA 300 logs for calendar year 2007-2009 and not maintaining separate 300 logs for 2007-2009. The Commerce facility has been given one other-than-serious violation with a proposed penalty of $3,000 for not correctly filling out OSHA 300 logs for calendar year 2006-2008. The Athens and Pendergrass locations are each receiving one other-than-serious violation for not posting hearing conservation standards in the workplace, with no penalty assessed, but the company is required to make the necessary changes to bring it into compliance with all OSHA standards.
“This company should not wait until a serious injury or death occurs to any of its more than 225 employees before making needed changes in its safety procedures,” said Gei-Thae Breezley, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “When a company persists in ignoring its responsibilities, OSHA will step in to protect workers’ safety.”
OSHA has proposed $118,650 in fines against 4 Brothers Stucco Co., a Cleveland, Tenn., stucco contractor, for 15 alleged repeat and serious violations of safety standards at a Torrington, Conn., worksite.OSHA’s inspection found employees working on scaffolding, in an aerial lift and on the roof at the 492 East Main St. worksite, were exposed to falls of up to 22 feet. The inspection also identified electrical, overhead and chemical hazard communication deficiencies at the worksite.
“These sizable fines reflect both the seriousness and recurring nature of several of the conditions cited here,” said C. William Freeman III, OSHA’s area director in Hartford. “Keep in mind that falls are the number one killer in construction work and can occur in an instant. Be it a scaffold, an aerial lift or a roof, proper and effective fall protection must be in place and in use at all times.”Specifically, 4 Brothers, which also operates as VP Stucco Co. Inc., was issued six repeat citations, with $84,000 in proposed penalties, for no fall protection for employees in an aerial lift; lack of guardrails on the scaffold; employees climbing the scaffold’s side and cross braces; employees not trained to recognize scaffold hazards; no protective helmets; and failing to have the scaffold erected and dismantled under the supervision of a competent person. A review of the OSHA website shows OSHA had cited the company in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 for similar hazards at other worksites. Some of these inspections resulted in repeat violations as well.
The Torrington inspection also resulted in nine serious citations, with $34,650 in proposed penalties, for employees working on a roof without fall protection; an improperly supported scaffold; unguarded walkways between scaffolds; using an ungrounded extension cord to power a mixing drill; and lack of a hazard communication program, training, material safety data sheets, and protective gloves for employees working with cement and hazardous chemicals. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.
St. Louis area chemical repackaging and distribution company in big trouble
OSHA has cited St. Louis, Mo.-based G.S. Robins & Co., doing business as Ro-Corp Inc., for alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of federal workplace safety standards, proposing more than $1.2 million in penalties for numerous violations relating to the handling of hazardous chemicals at the company’s facility in East St. Louis.
OSHA began an inspection at the East St. Louis site after learning that employees had been admitted to several local hospitals after being contaminated with an unknown powder. The eight hospitalized individuals, OSHA later learned, were exposed to the chemical para-nitroaniline (PNA), a poison that causes methemoglobinemia, resulting in the reduction of the blood’s ability to transport oxygen. The employees had been performing a chemical transfer operation at the East St. Louis worksite when chemical dust was released, settling on work surfaces and the employees.
“There are means available to safely handle deadly chemicals such as this, and those means were ignored,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Donald G. Shalhoub. “Those who ignore safe practices and OSHA regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their employees and their families, and this cannot be tolerated.” PNA is highly toxic and can be fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. All the employees exposed showed ill effects from their exposure and recovered after treatment.As a result of its investigation, OSHA issued 21 willful citations, 20 of which were cited on a per-instance basis, relating to eight instances of failing to provide employees with the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) for transferring PNA; four instances of failing to provide training on the use of PPE and on working with hazardous chemicals; three instances of failing to provide PPE training and training on specific PNA-transfer procedures; and five instances of failing to fit-test employees using respirators.OSHA also issued a repeat citation for failing to provide an eyewash/shower in corrosive chemicals areas, and an additional 16 serious citations for hazards associated with the transfer of PNA and other workplace practices. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with intentional disregard of or plain indifference to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Repeat violations are issued when an employer has been previously cited for the same, or a substantially similar, violation within three years of the final order date.
On September 12, 2006, OSHA published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register to seek comments on how to implement the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The GHS has been adopted by the United Nations to facilitate international trade by developing consistency between laws in different counties.
But since 2006 this proposed rule has seen little action. Under the Obama administration that may change. In a December 2008 meeting between the Obama transition team and the ASSE (American Society of Safety Engineers) the ASSE is recommending that this rule move forward. ASSE has stated publicly “OSHA can help U.S. companies save jobs. Rulemaking on global harmonization of US hazard communications (GHS) will help U.S. employers compete across the globe and should be completed. An engaged OSHA can help ensure OSH issues are addressed fully in US trade agreements”.
The adoption of the GHS by OSHA will require OSHA to propose changes to the Hazard Communication Standard (20 CFR 1910.1200). It is important to realize that GHS is not a regulation or standard, but is a system for standardizing and harmonizing the classification of chemicals internationally. Its purposes are to create a logical and comprehensive approach to defining health, physical, and environmental hazards; to create a classification process that uses data on chemicals with comparison with the define hazards criteria; and to standardize the communication of those hazards.
The GHS was developed because the global chemical business generates more the $17 trillion per year. Just in the US alone, chemicals are more than a $450 billion business and exports are more that $80 billion per year. While laws are similar, they are different enough to require multiple labels for the same product. It is estimated that there are over 100 different types of Hazard Communication Standards for global products. For large global companies, labeling is costly and time consuming. The various global regulations are complex and expensive and can prevent medium and small companies from entering into the global market. In the US alone, chemical manufactures, importers, suppliers, and users must comply with regulations from the CSPC, OSHA, DOT and EPA.
The proposed rule to the Hazard Communication Standard will address changes to the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and product labeling. In the US, workplace labels are “performance oriented” and result in labels that have product identity, hazard statements, and supplier information, but tend to be confusing. Some global US companies follow the voluntary ANSI Z129.1 Precautionary Labeling Standard that includes several of the core elements to GHS. The GHS label elements are Symbols (hazard pictograms) that show health, physical, and environmental hazards; Signal Words such as “Danger” or “Warning”; and Hazard Statements that would include standard phrases assigned to a hazard class and category. All symbols, signal words, and hazard statements have been standardized and assigned to a specific hazard category and class.
Under the GHS, the MSDS will become the SDS (Safety Data Sheet), which will have 16 required sections. A few of the new subjects that will be covered include Ecological, Transport Information, and Disposal Considerations. All three sections will have detailed information; for example, under the Disposal Considerations, the SDS will include a description of waste residues and information on the safe handling and methods of disposal, including any contaminated packaging.
The proposed changes to the Hazard Communication Standard will take time. For companies that are interested in entering into the global market or companies that are currently in the global market, the intent is to help streamline the process of providing information and to reduce the redundancies of all the various required labels resulting in less cost and time.
Ann Pierce Towles is the President and a Safety Consultant for Advanced Safety & Health, LLC and is a Louisville, KY based Safety Consultant. She can be reached at atowles@advancedsafetyheatlh.com or (502)240-6910
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