Emergency Temporary Standard for Rock Dust

“Coal dust can cause explosions, and explosions kill miners. Inadequate rock dusting can dramatically increase the potential for a coal mine explosion,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Compliance with the new standard will strengthen the protection for miners by minimizing the potential for such an explosion and, ultimately, will save lives.”

ETSs take effect immediately when evidence is presented that workers are in grave danger. They remain in effect until a standard is promulgated through the regular rulemaking process. 

“Explosions caused by coal dust are particularly violent and deadly,” noted Mine Safety and Health Administration Assistant Secretary Joe Main. “When the NIOSH report was released in May 2010 containing new scientific evidence that called for a higher standard, MSHA moved quickly to get this new standard in place. We also revised our guidance on rock dusting to ensure that mine operators are taking the steps necessary to provide for the safety of everyone working in their mines.”

The existing MSHA standard requires mine operators to maintain at least 80% total incombustible content of combined dusts in return air courses and at least 65% TIC in all other areas. It also requires that the percent TIC of combined dust in all areas where methane is present in any ventilating current be increased. The 80% TIC must be increased by 0.4% for each 0.1% of methane in return air courses, and the 65% TIC must be increased by 1% for each 0.1% of methane present in all other areas.

The ETS revises the existing standard by requiring mine operators to increase the total incombustible content of the combined coal dust, rock dust and other dust from 65–80% in all accessible areas of underground bituminous mines, and an additional 0.4% for each 0.1% of methane where methane is present in any ventilating current.

Although the ETS is effective on September 23, mine operators will have additional time for compliance in order to purchase more rock dust-related materials and equipment. Mine operators must comply with the ETS for newly mined areas by October 7, 2010, and all other areas of the mine by November 22, 2010. To meet these compliance dates, MSHA encourages mine operators to immediately begin rock dusting all other areas, starting with those that pose the greatest risk to miners: for example, areas near the active faces and areas that contain possible ignition sources, such as conveyer belt drives and belt entries.

“We know that it will take mine operators a little bit of time to bring their mines into compliance with the new standard,” Main added. “But coal dust explosions are serious, and we expect mine operators to act quickly to reduce the threat to those mining coal underground.”

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Siemens Recalls Circuit Breakers Due to Fire Hazard

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Siemens announced a voluntary recall of 2.2 million Siemens and Murray Circuit Breakers, Load Centers, and Meter Combos. If you have any of the recalled equipment immediately should immediately contact Siemens for a free inspection by an electrician and a free replacement product. Siemens has received one report of a circuit breaker spring clip that broke during installation. No injuries have been reported.

The recalled circuit breakers have a spring clip that can break during normal use, leading to a loss of force to maintain a proper electrical connection in the panelboard. This can lead to excessive temperature, arcing or thermal damage at the connection point, and damage to the panelboard’s electrical insulation and can result in a fire, property damage, or personal injury.

This recall involves Siemens and Murray 15 through 50 AMP single and double pole circuit breakers, load centers (circuit breakers that come with an electrical panel), and meter combos (contain a load center and a meter socket). Siemens or Murray date codes 0610 or 0710 and the catalog number are printed on a label on the side of the circuit breakers. Date codes between June 2010 through August 2010 are stamped on the inside of the metal box of the load centers and meter combos. The catalog number for the load centers and meter combos is printed on a label inside the metal box door and on the packaging.

CSB Board Member Calls for Prohibiting Natural Gas Blows at Power Plants

U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Member Mark Griffon has called on the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to adopt a CSB recommendation calling for natural gas blows to be prohibited during power plant construction.

The recommendation was one of 18 urgent recommendations issued in June 2010 following a CSB investigation into a powerful natural gas explosion that killed six workers and injured dozens of others during construction at the Kleen Energy plant in Middletown, Connecticut on February 7, 2010. Workers used hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of natural gas to clean debris from gas pipes used to fuel electricity-producing turbines. The gas accumulated in and around the buildings, was ignited by an unknown ignition source, and exploded.

Speaking to a meeting of ASME members in Phoenix who are considering changes to the ASME Code for Pressure Piping Systems, Mr. Griffon said, “The CSB believes that using natural gas or other flammable gases to clean fuel gas piping is inherently unsafe and should be prohibited.” He cited other accidents to show that explosions resulting from flammable gas blows have the potential of causing death, serious injuries, and costly property damage.

Mr. Griffon noted that the practice of using gas blows, or forcing large volumes of flammable gas through piping to clear out debris, was common in construction of electric generating facilities. The CSB investigation of Kleen Energy, which resulted in 18 urgent recommendations, states, “From a fire and explosion perspective, releasing large volumes of natural gas in the vicinity of workers or ignition sources is inherently unsafe.”

In remarks prepared for the ASME, which is considering the CSB recommendation to prohibit gas blows and use inherently safer methodologies to clean piping, Board Member Griffon said, “It has been argued that the gas blow at Kleen Energy was not conducted properly to ensure the dispersion of the released natural gas and to prevent the gas from encountering ignition sources. This point overlooks the simple fact that cleaning piping with flammable gases presents an inherent explosion hazard. Cleaning piping with flammable gases presents an explosion hazard that cannot be wholly eliminated.”

Even if every effort is made to eliminate ignition sources, such as welding, or electrical equipment not rated for a hazardous environment, he noted, the friction of the gas flowing through the piping can cause an accumulation of static electricity and cause ignition; in addition, sparks from impacts of metal debris striking surfaces when the gas exits the piping can also ignite the gas.

Mr. Griffon noted the CSB investigation found ample alternatives to gas blows which are safer. These methods include blowing air or nitrogen through piping, or by “pigging,” in which a cleaning device is propelled through the pipe using air.

Board Member Griffon noted that that some in industry have already eliminated gas blows. He said that a representative of General Electric, a major gas turbine manufacturer, stated at the CSB public meeting in June that his company greatly discourages gas blows and did not know of any situation where using gas to clean pipes was necessary. The company official said GE wants to “make gas blows something that will not happen again under GE’s watch.” GE also expressly prohibits its own employees from being on site if one of its customers chooses to conduct a blow with natural gas.

Since the public meeting, several other major turbine manufacturers also have reported to the CSB that they already have, or intend to soon develop, guidance that strongly advises their clients away from the practice of natural gas blows.

The CSB has also made recommendations to OSHA to promulgate a standard that prohibits gas blows to the atmosphere for the purpose of cleaning fuel gas piping, and to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to similarly modify their standards.

Mine Commission Rules in Favor of MSHA in Massey Energy Case

MSHA has announced that an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has ruled in favor of MSHA in a legal challenge filed last June by Massey Energy’s Performance Coal Co. The company had challenged MSHA’s protocol guidelines in the underground accident investigation of the Upper Big Branch Mine, in which the agency prohibited Massey Energy investigators from using cameras, collecting evidence, mapping, and conducting sampling. In her ruling, ALJ Margaret A. Miller held that MSHA did not abuse its discretion in adopting the protocols and that the protocols “are rationally connected to safely conducting the accident investigation.”

MSHA, along with West Virginia’s Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training, had outlined specific protocols in June to ensure the preservation of evidence. The agency considered input from all entities with an interest in the investigation, including Performance Coal. Furthermore, MSHA modified those protocols to accommodate a number of the company’s requests.

“Naturally, we are pleased with Judge Miller’s ruling in this case,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “The joint protocols were established with one goal in mind: to maintain the safety of all persons involved in the underground investigation and their exposure to potentially hazardous conditions. Having too many people underground would delay the investigation and increase the amount of time it takes for those persons to exit the mine in the event of an emergency.

“Massey’s complaints about the investigation were unfounded, and the company was not disadvantaged in any way—they were allowed to request that certain photos be taken, to view them underground and promptly receive copies of them, to receive copies of maps, and to receive excess material from dust samples whenever possible,” Main added.

The ALJ’s decision summarizes UBB lead investigator Norman Page’s rationale for establishing the protocol guidelines. Page determined that a limited number of cameras should be underground, taking into consideration the fact that cameras are not permissible, that gas checks must be made before they are used, and that the inspection will proceed more quickly with only one photographer. In addressing the issue of mapping, Page again considered the issue of permissibility and the number of persons underground for purposes of safety. The same was true for dust sampling.

After reviewing Page’s actions, Judge Miller concluded that the Secretary of Labor, “May insist on protocols that she believes are necessary to ensure the safety of the investigation. While those protocols may not be what Performance wants or expects, they are nonetheless reasonable and intended to ensure the safety of all persons in the mine.”

Gary’s Grading and Pipeline Co. Fined $62,800 for Excavation Hazards

OSHA has cited Gary’s Grading and Pipeline Co. Inc., of Monroe, Georgia, with four safety violations for exposing workers to excavation hazards while installing a tie-in pipe between two manhole basins at a site in Gainesville, Georgia. Proposed penalties total $62,800.

The company is being cited with two repeat violations and $56,000 in proposed penalties for failing to inspect a trench after conditions changed. In addition, the company is being cited for exposing workers to engulfment hazards by not having a protective system in place to prevent a trench collapse. The company was cited previously for these same violations, most recently in 2007.

The citations also include two serious violations with a proposed penalty of $6,800 for exposing workers to fall hazards, and creating a collapse hazard by failing to keep excavated and other material or equipment at least 2 feet from the edge of the excavation.

“Disregarding workers’ safety by leaving them unprotected from potential cave-in hazards is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office in Georgia.

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