The fifteen-minute long video focuses on two accidents investigated by the CSB. A June 9, 2009, explosion at the ConAgra Slim Jim plant near Garner, North Carolina, that fatally injured four workers and injured 67 others; and a February 7, 2010, explosion at the Kleen Energy natural gas powered electric generating plant under construction in Middletown, Connecticut, that killed six workers and injured at least 50 others.
The two incidents involved the intentional release of flammable natural gas into work areas, putting workers and nearby communities at risk of fires and explosions. At the Kleen Energy facility workers were conducting a “gas blow,” a procedure that forced natural gas at high volume and pressure through newly-installed piping to remove debris. The gas was vented to the atmosphere, where it accumulated, came in contact with an ignition source and exploded. At the ConAgra facility workers were purging a pipe feeding gas to an industrial heater. During the purging operation, gas was allowed to flow through the pipe and exit through an open valve inside the utility room where the water heater was located. Flammable gas accumulated inside the building and eventually found an ignition source.
In the video CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso says, “The deadly accidents at Kleen Energy and ConAgra were entirely preventable. At the Chemical Safety Board, it is our hope that standards will be put in place that will require these safer practices, which we believe will save lives.”
The CSB recommended that OSHA promulgate regulations that address fuel gas safety for both construction and general industry.
In the video, Don Holmstrom, the CSB’s Lead Investigator into both of these incidents, speaks to a key recommendation on cleaning piping at power plants: “The CSB believes that the use of flammable natural gas in gas blows is inherently unsafe and alternate methods should be used.”
In September 2010, the Governor of Connecticut issued an executive order banning the use of natural gas blows during power plant construction in the state. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the International Code Council (ICC) are taking action to ban the use of natural gas for cleaning and purging pipes.
Register Today for: IATA Update – What’s New for 2011?
Each year, the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) updates and revises the regulations for the transportation of dangerous goods (hazardous materials) by air. If you offer dangerous goods for transportation by air, you must follow the new regulations by January 1. A large number of significant changes are being implemented in the 2011 IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR).
At this live webcast, you will learn:
- Changes in the regulations for consumer commodities– new marking and shipping paper entries
- New test authorized to determine classification and packing group of corrosives
- Changes in the classification criteria for magnetized materials
- Revisions to the classification of environmentally hazardous substances, marine pollutants, and aquatic pollutants
- Phase in of new packing instructions for Class 3 flammable liquids, Class 4 flammable solids, Class 5 oxidizers/organic peroxides, Class 8 corrosives, Class 9 miscellaneous, and Division 6
- New entries on the IATA List of Dangerous Goods and new special provisions
- New marking requirements for net quantities, limited quantities, environmentally hazardous substances, and orientation arrows
Nashville, Tennessee RCRA and DOT Training
Advertising Opportunities Available
Environmental Resource Center is making a limited number of advertising positions available in the Safety Tip of the Week™, the Environmental Tip of the Week™, and the Reg of the Day™.
MSHA Issues Proposed Rule on Pattern of Violations
In September 2010, MSHA announced new screening criteria for the POV program, giving the agency an additional enforcement tool to use at mines with a history of violating safety and health standards.
Among the major provisions of the proposed regulation:
- The proposal would specify the general criteria that MSHA would use to identify mines with a pattern of violations. These general criteria would include compliance, accident, injury, and illness records.
- The agency’s website would allow operators to monitor their own records against the POV criteria and take proactive measures to eliminate persistent, systemic safety and health hazards, and bring their mines into compliance with MSHA safety and health standards and regulations.
- The proposal would eliminate the potential POV procedure, which involves written notification that a potential POV exists at a particular mining operation. No longer would mine operators receive advanced warning. Instead, screening under the proposed rule would be for mine operators that meet criteria for a pattern of violations, and the proposal would increase the frequency of MSHA’s review of a mine for a POV from once to at least twice a year. MSHA believes that the ready availability of compliance data on the agency’s website will eliminate the need to inform operators of a potential POV.
- As a mitigating circumstance in determining whether operators have a POV, MSHA would consider an operator’s prior submission, for the agency’s approval, of a written safety and health management program aimed at finding and fixing problems, reducing significant and substantial violations, and improving safety and health conditions for miners. A significant and substantial (or S&S) violation is one that reasonably could be expected to result in a serious injury or illness.
- The proposal would eliminate the existing requirement that only citations and orders which have become final orders can be used in MSHA’s POV review. The existing requirement provides an incentive for operators to contest citations and results in final orders years after the violations have occurred.
- For operators placed on a POV, each S&S violation found at a mine would result in a withdrawal order until the violation is abated. Mines would remain in POV status until a complete inspection of the entire mine resulted in no S&S violations.
“As I’ve said many times before, the current POV system is broken, and this regulation is the next critical step in reforming the enforcement program under the existing statute,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “It would require mine operators to be much more proactive in monitoring their compliance performance and would eliminate two provisions in the existing regulation: the potential POV procedure and the requirement regarding final orders.
“Congress enacted this law 33 years ago, and not one mine has ever been placed on a POV,” Main added. “This proposed rule is designed to meet Congress’ intent.”
CSB Releases Case Study on Fatal 2008 Accident at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Plant
The accident occurred on June 11, 2008, when an overpressure in a heat exchanger led to a violent rupture of the exchanger, hurtling debris that struck and killed a Goodyear employee walking through the area. The heat exchanger contained pressurized anhydrous ammonia, a colorless, toxic chemical, used as a coolant in the production of synthetic rubber; five workers were exposed to ammonia released by the rupture.
On the day prior to the accident, maintenance work required closing several valves on the heat exchanger. CSB investigators found that workers closed a valve that isolated the exchanger from a relief valve, to replace a burst rupture disk located below the relief valve.
The next day, at about 7:30 a.m. an operator closed another valve—this one blocking a second, automatic pressure control valve—to begin cleaning the process line with steam. Unaware that the isolation valve was also closed—thus leaving no means of relieving excess pressure in the exchanger, pressure continued to increase until the heat exchanger exploded violently.
Managers ordered the plant evacuated. However, CSB investigators found that on the day of the accident the employee tracking system was not operating properly, making it difficult to quickly account for all employees.
The CSB found that a malfunction in the computerized electronic employee badge tracking system delayed supervisors in immediately retrieving the list of personnel in their area, requiring handwritten lists to be generated. At about 1:20 p.m. an operations supervisor assessing the damage to the incident area discovered a fatally injured employee buried in rubble in a dimly lit area. The CSB case study notes that because the fatally injured employee had been a member of the emergency response team, her absence from the evacuation muster point was not considered unusual.
CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso said, “The absence of this worker had not been noted due to the lack of training and drills on worker headcounts. Plant personnel were not provided with the proper training to effectively manage this emergency. Company procedures called for routine evacuation and shelter-in-place drills four times a year, but such drills were not held for several years prior to the incident. Management’s adherence to company procedures should have allowed for effective communication between all members of the workforce and a more robust emergency response structure.”
The report further notes that maintenance work activity was not properly communicated between maintenance and operations personnel, resulting in a subsequent shift not being notified of the isolation of the pressure relief line.
The CSB’s final report outlines several lessons learned including the need to adhere to existing American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. CSB Investigations Supervisor Robert Hall said, “We found the accident likely would not have happened had operators followed the ASME code. It’s crucial that workers continuously monitor an isolated pressure relief system throughout the course of a repair and reopen blocked valves immediately after the work is completed.”
The CSB’s report notes that the ASME code states that “Overpressure protections shall be continually provided…whenever there is a possibility that the vessel can be over-pressurized by a pressure source.”
$235,500 Fine for Fall and Scaffold Hazards at Boston’s Rowes Wharf
OSHA has issued willful and serious citations to NER Construction Management Inc., for exposing workers to fall, scaffolding, and other hazards at a worksite at 20 Rowes Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. The Wilmington, Massachusetts, building restoration and masonry contractor faces a total of $235,500 in proposed fines.
OSHA’s inspection found NER employees exposed to falls of up to 17 feet due to a lack of fall protection while power washing the side of a building and while dismantling scaffolding. An additional fall hazard stemmed from the employer’s failure to fully plank the scaffolding from which the employee performed the power washing.
“A fatal or disabling fall can end a life or a career in seconds,” said Brenda Gordon, OSHA’s area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. “Scaffolding is an essential tool—and fall protection a basic and required safeguard—for this type of work. There’s no reason for an employer’s failure to have proper and effective protections in place and in use at all times at all jobsites.”
As a result of these conditions, OSHA has issued the company three willful citations with $210,000 in proposed fines. A willful violation exists when an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the law or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
NER also has been issued six serious citations with $23,500 in fines for improper scaffold erection; missing guardrails; failure to certify that employees had been trained and evaluated to safely operate powered industrial trucks; lack of emergency eyewashing facilities; and failure to ensure the use of eye, face, and head protection. Finally, NER has been issued two other-than-serious citations with $2,000 in fines for inadequate recordkeeping. OSHA issues a serious citation 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. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
$54,000 in Fines for Fall Hazards
OSHA has cited Georgoulis Construction Inc., for alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards for fall hazards at a Tewksbury, Massachusetts, worksite. The Dracut, Massachusetts, roofing contractor faces a total of $53,900 in proposed fines.
The citations and penalties stem from an OSHA inspection opened November 10, 2010. An OSHA inspector en route to his office observed employees exposed to apparent fall hazards while driving by a Georgoulis worksite. An inspection was opened on the spot. OSHA found Georgoulis employees exposed to falls while working atop a roof greater than 6 feet without any fall protection. They were exposed to an additional fall hazard while accessing the roof by using a ladder that did not extend at least 3 feet above the landing surface for required stability.
“The size of this penalty reflects the gravity of the hazard and the employer’s knowledge of its existence,” said Jeffery A. Erskine, OSHA’s area director for Middlesex and Essex counties. “A fall can occur in seconds but the resulting injuries can be permanent or end a life. There’s no reason for failing to provide this essential and legally required safeguard for workers.”
As a result of its inspection, OSHA has issued Georgoulis Construction one willful citation with a $49,000 fine for the lack of fall protection and one serious citation with a fine of $4,900 for the ladder hazard.
OSHA Cites North Central Power Co. Inc. After Worker Fatally Electrocuted
OSHA cited North Central Power Co., Inc., of Radisson, Wisconsin, following an investigation into the death of a lineman who was electrocuted while working to repair a 7,200-volt power line on August 8, 2010, near Winter, Wisconsin. The company has been issued citations for willful and serious safety violations.
“North Central Power has jeopardized the health and safety of its workers by failing to take proper safety precautions, such as requiring the use of personal protective gear and de-energizing power lines,” said Mark Hysell, OSHA’s area director in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. “Employers are responsible for knowing what hazards exist in their workplaces and ensuring that workers are not exposed to risks that could result in injury or death.”
Four willful violations have been issued to North Central Power Co., Inc., an electrical power generation, transmission and distribution company, for failing to ensure employees were protected from energized parts by wearing insulated gloves and sleeves, de-energize power lines, test lines and equipment, and install protective grounds on lines and equipment.
The company also has been issued two serious citations for allowing employees to operate chainsaws without leg and foot protection and failing to conduct jobsite safety briefings.
North Central Power Co., Inc., faces fines of $199,800 as a result of the investigation, which meets the requirements of OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). Initiated in the spring of 2010, SVEP is intended to focus on recalcitrant employers who endanger workers by committing willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations.
North Central Power operates and maintains approximately 550 miles of power lines in north central Wisconsin. The company is part of a three-way corporate structure along with Northwestern Wisconsin Electrical Co., and Dahlberg Light and Power Co. The three companies employ approximately 105 workers.
OSHA Fines Oberdorfer LLC $220,000 for Willful, Serious and Uncorrected Violations
OSHA has cited Oberdorfer LLC, for 28 alleged violations of workplace health and safety standards, including failing to correct hazards cited during a previous OSHA inspection. The Syracuse, New York, manufacturer of aluminum castings faces a total of $220,000 in proposed fines following an OSHA inspection opened July 30, 2010, to verify correction of previously cited hazards.
OSHA previously cited the company for a variety of violations involving employee overexposure to airborne concentrations of silica, which has been classified as a human lung carcinogen. This newest inspection found the company failed to implement engineering controls to reduce workers’ exposure to silica. In addition, the inspection found that an employee who was overexposed to silica lacked a respirator.
“This company was given the time and opportunity to take effective corrective action, yet our latest inspections identified silica-related hazards that either went uncorrected or were allowed to recur. This is unacceptable,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “The sizable fines levied here reflect the severity and recurring nature of these conditions. They must be corrected—once and for all—to help ensure the health and safety of the workers at this plant.”
As a result of its latest inspections, OSHA issued the company two failure-to-abate notices carrying $75,000 in fines for the uncorrected conditions and one willful citation with a $70,000 fine for the lack of respiratory protection. A failure-to-abate notice is issued, and additional fines proposed, when an employer fails to correct previously cited hazards.
The company also was issued 21 serious citations with $72,000 in fines for fall, electrical and machine guarding hazards; a locked exit door; lack of a permit-required confined space program and training; failure to develop specific lockout/tagout procedures to prevent the unintended startup of machinery; lack of an eyewash station; and failing to provide training on silica. Finally, the company was issued four other-than-serious citations with $3,000 in fines for inadequate recording of workplace injuries and illnesses.
“One means of addressing workplace hazards such as these is for employers to establish and maintain an illness and injury prevention program, in which workers and management work together continuously to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
Breathing crystalline silica dust can cause silicosis, which in severe cases can be disabling or even fatal. The respirable silica dust enters the lungs and causes the formation of scar tissue, thus reducing the lungs’ ability to take in oxygen.
OSHA Fines McEntire’s Roofing $102,000 for Failing to Provide Fall Protection
OSHA has issued McEntire’s Roofing Inc., of Lincoln, Illinois, six citations for failing to provide fall protection for roofers working on residential projects. The company faces penalties totaling $102,000.
The citations are the result of two OSHA investigations, conducted under the agency’s Local Emphasis Program on Fall Hazards, which took place in July and September 2010 at jobsites in Bloomington and Lincoln, Illinois. Two willful citations carrying $56,000 in penalties were issued after inspectors observed roofers being allowed to operate without fall protection at two-story residential projects.
“Falls are a leading cause of injury and death in the workplace,” said Thomas Bielema, OSHA’s area director in Peoria, Illinois. “McEntire’s Roofing repeatedly has been cited for not providing adequate fall protection and that is unacceptable. OSHA is committed to ensuring employers abide by the law, which requires commonsense safety practices.”
OSHA issued McEntire’s Roofing two repeat citations with proposed fines of $42,000 for allegedly not having a grasping handle and/or a ladder extended 3 feet or more above the roofline for workers to access in order to prevent falls. A repeat citation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.
Two serious citations were issued to the company alleging that a damaged ladder was used to access an upper roof area and for failing to have a ladder inspected by a competent person. Those violations carry total penalties of $4,000.
OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems, be in use when workers perform residential construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level.
The company’s willful and repeat safety violations put McEntire’s Roofing in OSHA’s SVEP, which focuses on employers with a history of safety violations that endanger workers by demonstrating indifference to their responsibilities under the law. This enforcement tool includes mandatory OSHA follow-up inspections and inspections of other worksites of the same employer where similar hazards and deficiencies may be present.
Prior to the two inspections detailed above, McEntire’s Roofing had been inspected by OSHA six times since 2005, resulting in 15 prior citations.
OSHA Fines Pipe Manufacturer $88,000 for Safety and Health Hazards
OSHA has cited Welspun Tubular LLC, for failing to protect its employees from safety and health hazards at its Little Rock, Arkansas, facility. Proposed penalties total $88,000.
“This company put its workers’ safety and health at risk by exposing them to a variety of hazardous working conditions,” said Carlos Reynolds, director of OSHA’s Little Rock Area Office. “OSHA’s safety standards must be followed to avoid injuries and fatalities.”
OSHA’s Little Rock office initiated a safety and health inspection on August 3, 2010, at the company’s facility on Frazier Pike. OSHA has issued citations for 16 serious and one other-than-serious safety violation, and five serious and two other-than-serious health violations. The Mumbai, India-based company is a worldwide pipe manufacturer that employs more than 20,000 workers globally, with about 265 workers at the Little Rock facility.
Serious safety violations include failing to protect workers from struck-by hazards, determine load capacities of cranes, provide a self-closing fire door, provide the required machine guarding equipment, and ensure lockout/tagout procedures were followed to de-energize electrical equipment. Proposed penalties for safety violations total $65,000.
Serious health violations include failing to identify respiratory hazards, provide training in hazard communication, and provide hepatitis B vaccinations for employees exposed to blood-borne pathogens or other infectious materials. Proposed penalties for the health violations total $23,000.
The other-than-serious safety violation is for failing to provide fork truck maintenance. The other-than-serious health violations are for failing to adequately complete the OSHA 300 logs with detailed information on work-related injuries and illnesses.
Steelcase Recalls Cachet Swivel Chairs Due to Fall Hazard
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada, in cooperation with Steelcase Inc., announced a voluntary recall of the Cachet Swivel Chairs because the front seat support part of the chair can crack and fail, posing a fall hazard to consumers. Steelcase has received one report of a chair support failure resulting in a back injury. You should stop using these chairs unless otherwise instructed by the manufacturer. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.
This recall involves all Steelcase Cachet swivel chairs with model number 487 manufactured between May 2002 and October 15, 2009. The chairs have a plastic slotted seat and back design and some were sold with back and seat cushions. The model number and manufacture date are printed on a label on the underside of the base of the chair.
Cachet Swivel Chairs were sold by authorized Steelcase dealers and retail outlets, including Healthy Back Store, CSN, Home Office Solutions, Office & Company, and Sam Flax stores nationwide and online at www.store.steelcase.com between May 2002 and November 2009 for up to $600.
Steelcase will replace chairs for individual consumers who purchased chairs online or from retail outlets listed above. For commercial customers who purchase chairs in quantity, Steelcase will replace the chair support parts. If any cracks are identified, consumers should immediately stop using the chairs and contact Steelcase. Even if no cracks are identified, you should contact Steelcase to arrange for the replacement process and periodically check for cracks until the chair supports are replaced.
Raynor Marketing Agrees to $390,000 Civil Penalty for Failing to Report Defective Office Chairs
The penalty agreement has been accepted provisionally by the Commission.
The settlement resolves CPSC staff allegations that Raynor Marketing Ltd., was aware of a defect involving office chairs it sold to consumers, as well incidents and injuries, yet the firm failed to report immediately to CPSC as required by federal law.
Bolts attaching the seatback can loosen and detach, posing a fall and injury hazard to consumers. Raynor imported the chairs between May 2006 and March 2009 for sale exclusively at Office Depot stores nationwide and on online at Office Depot.com.
Federal law requires manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to report to CPSC immediately (within 24 hours) after obtaining information reasonably supporting the conclusion that a product contains a defect which could create a substantial product hazard, creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, or fails to comply with any consumer product safety rule or any other rule, regulation, standard, or ban enforced by CPSC.
In agreeing to the settlement, Raynor Marketing Ltd., denies CPSC staff allegations that it knowingly violated the law.
CPSC Lifts Stay of Enforcement on Flammability Requirements for Certain Non-Children’s Products
- Vinyl plastic film
- Clothing textiles
- Carpets and rugs
General certificates of conformity (GCCs) will be required for the flammability standards for these three non-children’s products starting on January 26, 2011 certifying that a manufacturer’s products comply with these standards. GCCs do not need to be based on testing done by a third-party laboratory. Rather, certification testing can be done by the manufacturer of the product based on a test of each product or on a “reasonable testing program.”
A GCC must accompany the product whether imported or manufactured in the United States and be furnished to the product’s distributors and/or retailers. Firms must supply GCCs for their products to CPSC upon request.
The Commission’s vote is intended to clarify the lifting of the stay of enforcement of the flammability standards with respect to these three non-children’s products.
USDA and HHS Announce New Dietary Guidelines
Because more than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, the 7th edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans places stronger emphasis on reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity.
“The 2010 Dietary Guidelines are being released at a time when the majority of adults and one in three children is overweight or obese and this is a crisis that we can no longer ignore,” said Secretary Vilsack. “These new and improved dietary recommendations give individuals the information to make thoughtful choices of healthier foods in the right portions and to complement those choices with physical activity. The bottom line is that most Americans need to trim our waistlines to reduce the risk of developing diet-related chronic disease. Improving our eating habits is not only good for every individual and family, but also for our country.”
The new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans focus on balancing calories with physical activity, and encourage Americans to consume more healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and seafood, and to consume less sodium, saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and refined grains.
“Helping Americans incorporate these guidelines into their everyday lives is important to improving the overall health of the American people,” said HHS Secretary Sebelius. “The new Dietary Guidelines provide concrete action steps to help people live healthier, more physically active and longer lives.”
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans include 23 Key Recommendations for the general population and six additional Key Recommendations for specific population groups, such as women who are pregnant. Key Recommendations are the most important messages within the Guidelines in terms of their implications for improving public health.
More consumer-friendly advice and tools, including a next generation Food Pyramid, will be released by USDA and HHS in the coming months. Below is a preview of some of the tips that will be provided to help consumers translate the Dietary Guidelines into their everyday lives:
- Enjoy your food, but eat less
- Avoid oversized portions
- Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
- Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk
- Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals—and choose the foods with lower numbers
- Drink water instead of sugary drinks
By adopting the recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines, Americans can live healthier lives and contribute to a lowering of health-care costs, helping to strengthen America’s long-term economic competitiveness and overall productivity.
USDA and HHS have conducted this latest review of the scientific literature, and have developed and issued the 7th edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in a joint effort that is mandated by Congress. The Guidelines form the basis of nutrition education programs, Federal nutrition assistance programs such as school meals programs and Meals on Wheels programs for seniors, and dietary advice provided by health professionals.
The Dietary Guidelines, based on the most sound scientific information, provide authoritative advice for people 2 years and older about how proper dietary habits can promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases.
The Dietary Guidelines aid policymakers in designing and implementing nutrition-related programs. They also provide education and health professionals, such as nutritionists, dietitians, and health educators with a compilation of the latest science-based recommendations. A table with key consumer behaviors and potential strategies for professionals to use in implementing the Dietary Guidelines is included in the appendix.
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