New York wood shavings manufacturer fined for
combustible dust, confined space, chemical, mechanical, electrical hazards
OSHA cited RWS Manufacturing Inc. for a total of 28 alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety and health standards at its Queensbury manufacturing plant. The company, which makes wood shavings for animal bedding, faces a total of $233,870 in proposed fines.
“The sizable penalties proposed here reflect the breadth and severity of the hazardous conditions found at this plant. Left uncorrected, they exposed workers to the dangers of fires and explosions, engulfment, toxic or oxygen-deficient atmospheres, hearing loss, struck-by injuries, amputation, electrocution, and hazardous chemicals,” said Kimberly Castillon, OSHA’s area director in Albany. “The fact that a catastrophic incident has not occurred does not absolve this employer of its responsibility to reduce and prevent risk and eliminate hazards that could injure or kill its workers.”
Inspections by OSHA’s Albany Area Office found hazardous accumulations of explosive, combustible wood dust on structural supports, pipes, fixtures, ductwork, equipment and floors. Furthermore, workers were allowed to smoke in areas where excessive wood dust and wood shavings were present and the plant’s dust collection system lacked a fully enclosed motor and grounded or bonded ductwork. The accumulation of wood shavings, as deep as 1 foot in some locations, also posed a slip and fall hazard.
Combustible dust is made up of fine particles that present an explosion hazard when suspended in air under certain conditions. A dust explosion can be catastrophic and cause employee deaths, injuries and destruction of entire buildings. Detailed information on combustible dust hazards and safeguards is available at http://www.osha.gov/dsg/combustibledust/index.html.
In addition, the plant did not develop and implement a confined space entry program and provide training, warning signs and retrieval systems to protect workers in confined spaces; workers exposed to excessive noise levels were not provided a hearing conservation program, training, a choice of hearing protection and audiometric testing; respirator users were not provided necessary information; there was a lack of information and training on hazardous chemicals; powered industrial trucks were not inspected and/or were operated by untrained operators; and required guarding and fire watches were not used and maintained when welding near flammable wood shavings. Additional hazards include unguarded moving machine parts, exposed live electrical parts, ungrounded equipment and improperly stored oxygen cylinders.
In total, RWS was issued two willful citations with $107,800 in fines, 25 serious citations with $118,370 in fines and one repeat citation with a $7,700 fine for these hazards. The citations can be viewed online at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/RWS_H.pdf and http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/RWS_S.pdf.













