Proper Combustible Gas Monitoring Among Seven Key Safety Lessons from a CSB Investigation of Multiple Hot Work Disasters

 Wausau, Wisconsin, March 4, 2010 – The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today issued a safety bulletin warning of the hazards of conducting hot work in a variety of industries and identifying seven key lessons aimed at preventing worker deaths during hot work in and around storage tanks containing flammable materials.

Hot work is defined as any work activity that involves burning, welding, cutting, brazing, grinding, soldering, or similar spark-producing operations that can ignite a flammable atmosphere

The CSB began investigating hot work hazards following an explosion that occurred on July 29, 2008, at the Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) corrugated cardboard mill in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, which killed three maintenance workers and injured another. The CSB determined the explosion resulted from welding above an 80-foot-tall storage tank that contained highly flammable hydrogen gas – the product of bacterial decomposition of organic fiber waste inside the tank.

You can Read the rest of the article here on the U.S. Chemical Safety Board web site.

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#501 - Trainer Course in OSHA Standards for General Industry, April 27-30, 2010 in Louisville, KY

This course is designed for personnel in the private and public sector interested in teaching the OSHA 10- and 30-hour general industry safety and health outreach program to their employees and other interested groups. Special emphasis is placed on those topics that are required in the 10- and 30-hour programs as well as on those that are the most hazardous, using OSHA standards as a guide. Course participants are briefed on effective instructional approaches and the effective use of visual aids and handouts. This course allows the student to become a trainer in the Outreach Program and to conduct both a 10- and 30-hour general industry safety and health course and to issue cards to participants verifying course completion. Prerequisites: Course #511 and five years of general industry safety experience. A college degree in occupational safety and health, a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), or Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) designation, in the applicable training area may be substituted for two years of experience. NOTE: Students in Course #501 who wish to participate as authorized trainers in the Outreach Program must successfully pass a written exam at the end of the course. Outreach trainers are required to attend Course #503 at least once every four years to maintain their trainer status.

#503 - Update for General Industry Outreach Trainers, April 27-29, 2010 in Louisville, KY

This course is designed for private sector personnel who have completed course #501 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety and Health Standards for General Industry and who are active trainers in the outreach program. It provides an update on OSHA general industry standards and OSHA policies. Prerequisites: Course #501. NOTE: Outreach trainers are required to attend this course once every four years to maintain their trainer status. Students must bring their current trainer’s card for validation.

To register please contact Josh Dahl at with Eastern Kentucky University at (859)622-2961 or josh.dahl@eku.edu

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By: Jordy Yager

But this year’s inspection data from the Office of Compliance inspections is an improvement over last year’s.

More than 70 percent of congressional offices have violated worker safety standards over the past year.

While the majority of all lawmaker offices on Capitol Hill have at least one health or safety hazard violation, this year’s inspection data from the Office of Compliance inspections is an improvement over last year’s.

The number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations found in each office has significantly decreased over the years as well — from an average of about 8.15 violations per office in 2007 to an average of 1.75 hazards in each office this year.

You can see the rest of the article here on the thehill.com

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BRAINTREE, Mass. - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $136,000 in fines against William A. Berry & Son Inc., a Danvers, Mass., construction contractor, for 19 alleged violations of workplace health and safety standards while removing asbestos-containing material at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Mass., last September.

“Asbestos is well recognized as a health hazard since inhalation of asbestos fibers may lead to lung cancer and other diseases,” said Brenda Gordon, OSHA’s area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. “OSHA standards are designed to minimize the risk of exposure and its potential impact on workers’ health, but they are effective only so long as employers adhere to them.”

OSHA’s inspection found that Berry employees were removing laboratory ventilation hoods with asbestos-containing panels without proper respiratory protection and required safeguards to minimize exposure. Specifically, the contractor failed to conduct an initial asbestos exposure assessment and monitor the worksite daily for asbestos exposure, establish regulated work areas, provide protective clothing and a decontamination area, use HEPA vacuums to collect debris and clean workers’ clothing, label containers of asbestos-containing materials, train employees in asbestos work, and ensure that the site was inspected and the work overseen by a competent person. Several respirator-related deficiencies also were identified.

As a result, OSHA has issued William A. Berry & Son one willful citation, with a $55,000 fine, for not establishing a regulated work area and 17 serious citations, with $80,000 in fines, for the remaining items. The employer also has been issued one other-than-serious citation, with a $1,000 fine, for not providing OSHA injury and illness logs in a timely manner.

OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for worker safety and health, while serious citations are issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known. Detailed information on asbestos hazards and safeguards is available at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/index.html and http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/construction.html.

William A. Berry & Son Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Braintree Area Office; telephone 617-565-6924.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov

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Scenario:  You have a 48 year old male employee who reports to work on Wednesday morning and two hours into his work shift he experiences some sort of seizure and falls to the floor.  During this event when the employee falls he strikes his head on a work table and receives a laceration on his head that requires six stitches.  Further investigation determines the employee has epilepsy and a history of epileptic seizures.  The doctor verifies that what this employee experienced was indeed an epileptic seizure.   So you determined the event was due to a preexisting non-work related medical condition.  But since the employee struck his head while at work performing work, does the geographical presumption make this event an OSHA recordable? 

Answer:  Neither the seizures nor the laceration are recordable. Injuries and illnesses that result solely from non-work-related events or exposures are not recordable under the exception in section 1904.5(b)(2)(ii). Epileptic seizures are a symptom of a disease of non-occupational origin, and the fact that they occur at work does not make them work-related. Because epileptic seizures are not work-related, injuries resulting solely from the seizures, such as the laceration in the case in question, are not recordable.

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I often hear the horror stories of OSHA experiences. Some are determined to be embellishments of an actual experience, but others justify certain levels of outrage and frustration.  I receive a monthly publication listing the results of OSHA inspections conducted in the state of Kentucky.  I was just reading the January edition of the publication and thought I would share with you a few findings that help to fuel the feelings people may have against OSHA.

In an event where two employees were killed after anhydrous ammonia was released while repairing a freezer pump, the employer was fined a total of $17,500. Now the interesting part about this is that 29% ($5,000) of the total dollar amount was because the employer did not notify OSHA within eight hours of being aware of the fatalities. 

In another situation, OSHA discovered five employees working on a roof 19 feet above the ground with no fall protection that netted (no pun intended) a serious violation of $2,500. So, this could leave one to think that delaying a phone call to OSHA after a fatality is twice as bad as actually exposing employees to a potential death hazard? 

I also found an occurrence where not having an emergency eyewash and shower was labeled as a serious violation and was accompanied with a monetary penalty of $4,500, yet the same violation was listed as an “other than serous” with no monetary penalty for another employer. 

In a situation with an employee who had a finger amputated, the hazards that caused the amputation were listed as a serious violation and cost the employer $4,500. The employer was then fined $3,250 for not reporting the event within 72 hours. Once again are we saying not reporting the event is almost as serious as the actual hazard that casued the event?

Now this one boggles my mind! Another employer was fined $6,600 due to an employee injury, but the entire monetary portion of the citation revolved around not reporting and not recording the injury.  The ensuing OSHA inspection found that the area around a cooker tank was not kept in a clean and dry condition and that the employer did not have proper lockout/tagout procedures in place nor have proper training certification for forklift operators.  Total dollar amount for those findings?  Zero dollars.  Yes, I said zero dollars.

Further down the page, I saw where a little “mom and pop” deli near my house was fined $1,250 for some water on the floor from a leaky roof. So is OSHA telling me grease and oil on the floor around a cooker tank isn’t a hazard but water is? 

One of the most frustrating inspection outcomes was when Kentucky OSHA fined a nonprofit charity organization “Methodist Mountain Mission” $250 for a toilet that “did not flush properly”.   Based on these findings, I can only assume an improperly flushing toilet is more serious than improper lockout procedures?  

Now I don’t pretend to know all the details around these events, but it doesn’t take much to see what could be perceived as significant inconsistencies in enforcement and levels of seriousness.  You want to know why OSHA sometimes gets a bad rap?  Well, just read.  

Note:  So they can get back to clothing and finding gainful employment for the poor in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, I inserted a link to the Methodist Mountain Mission of KY just in case you might like to donate to their OSHA fine fund.

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TSP Co., Inc. of Lexington Kentucky receives $420,000 in fines for safety violations discovered by Kentucky OSHA from a construction site inspection that occurred in October of 2009 at 100 Trojan Way in Vine Grove Kentucky.

The employer received nine Willful citations related to scaffolding violations.  Citations included employee was working on scaffolding that was more than 25 inches from wall with no fall protection.   Employees were seen climbing scaffolding to access work area; scaffold did not have proper means of access.  The employer did not ensure competent person inspected scaffolding before each work shift. Employees were working on scaffolding that was not erected under supervision of competent person. There were Masonry employees working on scaffolding at least 13 feet above lower level with no fall protection. There was an employee working near unguarded platform edge with no fall protection and Scaffolding did not have proper toe boards or other safety measures to protect three employees working below.  OSHA also observed scaffolding that was not properly joined together vertically by coupling or stacking pins or other means.

The final two willful citations involved the employer not providing training for employees working on scaffolds in fall and other hazards and not properly training employees on hazards associated with erecting, dismantling and working from scaffolds.

TSP also received an inspection in 2007 that is still listed as open by Kentucky OSHA that involves six similar citations with one being a repeat violation and five serious violations.  The current proposed fines for this inspection are $26,600.

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PITTSBURGH — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Mariani & Richards Inc. for failing to protect workers from falls on a construction site following the investigation of a worker who fell 225 feet to his death.

OSHA began its investigation on Aug. 18, 2009, and found that Mariani & Richards did not provide workers with any fall protection while they were performing maintenance on The Pennsylvanian Building, a historic landmark in downtown Pittsburgh. As a result of the investigation, the company has been cited with one willful violation and a proposed penalty of $70,000.

“This company was cited for the same violation in November 2007 but never took the proper steps to ensure workers were safe at this worksite, resulting in this tragedy,” said Robert Szymanski, director of OSHA’s Pittsburgh office. “OSHA will not tolerate employers who flagrantly ignore the regulations designed to protect workers on the job.”

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Owner pleads guilty to related criminal charge

Federal OSHA has fined the C.A. Franc construction company $539,000 following the investigation of a roofing worker who fell 40 feet to his death at a Washington worksite. The Valencia, Pa.-based roof installer – whose owner is Christopher A. Franc – was cited for 10 per instance willful citations for failing to protect workers from falls.

“Mr. Franc knowingly and willfully failed to protect his workers from falling to their death,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “Despite repeated requests from workers that he provide fall protection, on this steep roof, Mr. Franc refused to provide readily available protection. We will not tolerate this type of blatant and egregious disregard for the health and safety of workers.”

OSHA began its investigation immediately following the worker’s death on Aug. 15, 2009, and found the C.A. Franc company had failed to provide any fall protection to its employees working on a pitched roof 40 feet off the ground. In addition, Mr. Franc failed to train a newly hired college student in hazards and the necessary safety measures for roofing work. As a result of the investigation, the company has been cited for 10 alleged per-instance willful violations, one for each employee working unprotected on the roof, with a proposed penalty of $490,000, and one additional alleged willful violation for failing to train the new employee, with a penalty of $49,000.

General contractor Hospitality Builders Inc. also has been cited with one willful violation and a proposed penalty of $70,000 for failing to ensure that C.A. Franc workers had fall protection.

“This fall fatality was one of five that occurred during a 15-day span in the Pittsburgh area,” said John M. Hermanson, OSHA’s regional administrator in Philadelphia, Pa. “Falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry. Failure to provide employees with fall protection is unconscionable. We urge construction companies to take the necessary action to ensure their workers are protected.”

OSHA Believes that they have detailed information about fall hazards and safeguards is available on it’s Web site at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/construction.html.

In a related criminal charge, Christopher A. Franc today entered a guilty plea in federal court to a violation of 29 U. S. C. Section 666(e). Sentencing is scheduled for June 18.

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Business Owners being charged with contempt order and payment of over $250,000 in fines and growing.

Federal OSHA announced on February 11th the issuance of contempt of court orders against Brian Andre, former owner of Andre Tuckpointing and Brickwork (AT&B), Andre Stone and Mason Work Inc. (AS&MW) and Regina Shaw, owner of AS&MW. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued the contempt orders against the St. Louis-area company and individuals for failing to comply with court orders enforcing citations of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC).

“Companies that expose employees to hazards, and then blatantly ignore citations requiring correction of those hazards, will not be overlooked,” said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. “Employers must fulfill their responsibility to keep employees safe, as well as satisfy any sanctions levied for failing to do so.”

The cases stem from numerous citations OSHA issued to AT&B and its successor, AS&MW, for willful, repeat and serious violations related to fall hazards, scaffolding erection deficiencies, power tool guarding and other hazards in connection with multiple projects in the St. Louis area.

When the companies failed to comply with the court’s order enforcing OSHRC’s final order, the secretary of labor filed petitions for contempt. As a result, a special master of the Court of Appeals concluded that Brian Andre, AS&MW and Regina Shaw were in contempt of the order, and recommended various sanctions. The Eighth Circuit substantially accepted the master’s recommendations, found all three parties in contempt, and imposed sanctions, including: Brian Andre, AS&MW and Regina Shaw must pay outstanding monetary penalties, which continue to accrue interest, and other miscellaneous fees, in the current amount of $258,582.08; AS&MW and Regina Shaw must pay a $100 daily penalty, calculated from the time of default, in early 2008, on the OSHRC final order; AS&MW must provide OSHA weekly notification of all current jobs, and known future jobs, at least 72 hours prior to commencement of work for a period of three years; and, AS&MW must provide “competent person” training to all people currently and subsequently designated as jobsite “competent persons,” prior to beginning any work, and provide the secretary records of such training.

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