South Carolina Boiler Safety Act Q & A

July 18, 2005

The ôBoiler Safety Actö (2005 Act 59) was passed by the South Carolina General Assembly May 18, 2005, requiring the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) to promulgate regulations for safe installation and inspection of boilers..

The legislation establishes certification requirements for boiler inspectors and provides for boiler inspection timeframes, criteria and reporting requirements. As of Jan. 1, 2006, each boiler used, or proposed to be used in South Carolina, must be registered with LLR and inspected annually or biennially. .

The information below is provided to help you understand the new law. For more information, contact Ron Galloway, interim administrator for the Boiler Registration Program, at (803) 896-4613. A boiler inspection form will soon be available on-line.

What is a boiler?
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other liquid is heated, steam or vapor is generated, or steam is superheated, under pressure or vacuum, for external use by the direct application of energy.

Are there any exemptions?
Certain boilers are exempted from regulation under this legislation. Exemptions include all pressure vessels, boilers on a farm, heating boilers located in private homes or in apartment houses of less than six family units. For additional exemptions, click here.

Who does the inspection?
LLR will certify external ôspecial inspectorsö who will inspect all boilers insured or operated by their respective companies.

Additionally, a chief boiler administrator employed by LLR will keep a complete record of the name of each boiler owner or user and his or her location, the type, dimensions, maximum allowable working pressure, age, and the last record inspection of all boilers.

What type of paperwork needs to be filed?
Evidence of inspection may be in the form of a certificate of insurance or an inspection report from a certified special inspector.

How much will it cost?
Fees for registering a boiler and filing the report of inspection with the State of South Carolina cannot exceed $50 per boiler. However, failure to comply may result in a civil penalty of no more than $5,000 for each violation. Failure to comply after written notice may result in a penalty of up to $100 per day. LLR does not set the amount charged by special inspectors for their services.




Recently Updated Safety Publications

 




Louisiana-Pacific Corp. Recognized as MNSTAR Worksite

Workplace safety and health representatives from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) will recognize Louisiana-Pacific Corporation for its achievements as a MNSTAR (Minnesota Star) worksite on July 19.

MNSTAR is a Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) program that recognizes companies where managers and employees work together to develop safety and health management systems that go beyond basic compliance with all applicable OSHA standards and result in immediate and long-term prevention of job-related injuries and illnesses.

ôWe are pleased to reward Louisiana-Pacific for being one of the best in safety and health,ö said Scott Brener, Department of Labor and Industry commissioner. ôTheir facility operates an excellent safety and health management program that results in injury and illness rates far below the national average.ö

Since 2002, the company has worked with MNOSHAÆs Workplace Safety Consultation to aim for the MNSTAR level and renewed its commitment to help identify and eliminate current or future safety hazards. Key elements of this comprehensive program include: management leadership and employee involvement; an allocation of resources to address safety issues; systems that identify and control workplace hazards; and a plan for employee safety training and education.

Louisiana-Pacific is a premiere supplier of building products, delivering innovative, high-quality commodity and specialty products to its retail, wholesale, homebuilding and industrial customers.




Warehouse Specialists Achieves OSHA Recognition

Warehouse Specialists Inc. has earned membership in OSHAÆs "Star" Voluntary Protection Program. "Warehouse Specialists Inc. has demonstrated excellence in effective safety and health management," said OSHA Regional Administrator John Miles in Dallas. "Their outstanding efforts include having no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2001, 2002 and 2004."

The warehousing contractor employs about 11 workers in St. Gabriel. The company performs onsite warehousing of raw materials and finished products and also operates a textile dye packaging line for the Ciba Specialty Chemical Co.




OSHA and Wisconsin State Agencies Launch Job Safety Alliance

OSHA and Wisconsin state agencies have launched an alliance aimed at preventing workplace hazards statewide. Joining OSHA in the three-year pact are the Workers Compensation Division of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, and the Wisconsin Onsite Consultation Programs.

"OSHA alliances are part of U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao's efforts to improve the health and safety of workers," said Kimberly Stille, OSHA's area director in Madison. "They provide an opportunity to cooperate with OSHA in training and education, outreach and communication, and promoting a national dialogue on workplace safety and health."

OSHA and the Wisconsin agencies will work together to develop and communicate information to help businesses and workers recognize and prevent job-related hazards. At conferences and public forums, alliance members will share information and forge innovative solutions to improve workplace safety and health.




Polyurethane Industry Joins OSHA in Alliance to Protect Workers in the Spray-on Truck Bed Liner Industry

Federal offices of OSHA in Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin, and state plan OSHAs in Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota formed an alliance with the Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry (API), a business unit of the American Plastics Council, that focuses on reducing and preventing exposure to hazardous substances for workers employed in the application of spray-on truck bed liners.

"This alliance with the API offers OSHA a unique opportunity to target an industry where workers might otherwise not have our protection, due to business size in particular," said OSHA Regional Administrator Michael Connors. "It's vitally important that all workers have access to our expertise and the cooperation of management in staying healthy and safe on the job."

As part of the alliance, API will encourage the spray-on truck bed liner industry to build relationships with OSHA's regional and area offices to address health and safety issues including the proper use, storage, fit and evaluation of personal protective equipment and respirators, the proper use and maintenance of truck bed liner application equipment and design of a ventilation booth, and clear, consistent interpretation of OSHA federal or state regulations pertaining to the spray-on truck bed liner industry.

The two organizations will work together to raise industry awareness of job hazards and the business value of a company's commitment to employee safety and health.




New Telephone Numbers for Reporting Fatalities and Casualties in Connecticut

This is to alert Emergency Responders and Public Sector Managers in the state to make note of a change to the 24 hour Fatality and Casualty Reporting Line in relation to accidents involving public sector employees i.e.: state agencies, police, fire, and municipal employees. The new numbers, (860) 263-6946 (local) and 1-866-241-4060 (statewide/toll free) are direct phone lines dedicated to this purpose at the Connecticut Department of LaborÆs Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CONN-OSHA).

As mandated by Connecticut General Statute Title 31 Sec. 31-374, CONN-OSHA must be notified of an accident resulting in a fatality or catastrophic event (an accident involving hospitalization of three or more employees) within 8 hours of the occurrence. The new telephone numbers are only for fatality/catastrophe reporting.

Fatalities and catastrophic events in the private sector should continue to be reported to Federal OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).




OSHA Compliance Officer Averts Electrocution Accident

Two workers were saved from possible electrocution on June 9 by Compliance Officer Scot Campbell of OSHA's Bridgeport, Ct., Area Office. While responding to a complaint pertaining to a fall hazard, Campbell observed employees working on an aluminum pump jack scaffold. 

Campbell asked the workers to exit the scaffold, and then called Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P). 




OSHA Cites Testa Corp. Following Fatal Craneway Collapse

OSHA cited Testa Corp., a Lynnfield, Mass. demolition contractor, for 15 alleged violations of safety and health standards following the collapse of a craneway at the former Fore River Shipyard in Braintree, Mass. Proposed penalties total $60,400. Testa Corp. was the general contractor for the demolition of the 190-foot tall steel craneway superstructure. On Jan. 26, two workers were killed and several others injured when the craneway collapsed onto an adjacent building from which workers were removing asbestos.

OSHA's inspection found that Testa Corp. did not do an engineering survey to determine the craneway's stability before allowing employees to work in the adjacent building. An engineering survey would have shown that several of the steel craneway's members had been cut through by torches and cross-bracing supports had been removed, leaving the structure overstressed. Workers were also allowed into the building before the craneway had been properly braced or otherwise secured against collapse.

OSHA's inspection also identified several health hazards to workers exposed to airborne concentrations of lead while torch-cutting lead-coated steel. These included failing to monitor for lead exposure; several respirator hazards; lack of protective clothing and clean change areas; no training in lead hazards; lack of a written lead compliance program, and lack of appropriate handwashing facilities.

The last item was classified as a repeat violation since the company had been cited for the same type of hazard in December 2004 at a Boston jobsite. All other citations were classified as serious.




OSHA Cites Jacksonville Contractor for Fall Hazards; Proposed Penalties Total $50,000

OSHA cited E. C. Kenyon Construction Company, Inc., for failing to protect employees from fall hazards at a Jacksonville job site. Proposed penalties total $50,000. The company received one willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $44,000, for reportedly directing an employee to work from a suspended scaffold without fall protection equipment, such as an independent lifeline.

The contractor was also cited for exposing workers to falls while framing window openings inside the building, which was being renovated. This "repeat" citation has a proposed penalty of $6,000.

Kenyon Construction has 15 working days to contest the latest citations and proposed penalties before the review commission.

"OSHA conducted an inspection at the Park Street site on June 23, after being alerted that workers were exposed to fall hazards, a leading cause of construction fatalities in Florida," said James Borders, OSHA's Jacksonville area director.




$98,000 Penalty for Lack of Machine Guarding and Failure to Protect Workers

OSHA has cited Republic Engineering Products, Inc., Lorain, Ohio, for alleged willful, serious and repeated workplace safety violations following the agency's investigation of a Jan. 27, 2005 fatality.

OSHA issued citations for one alleged willful violation, two serious and one repeat violation of workplace health and safety standards primarily involving a lack of machine guarding and failure to protect workers from loads suspended overhead. In the Jan. 27 incident that led to the OSHA investigation, a worker who was attempting to rig several bundled bars to an overhead crane was struck by two of the nearly 500-pound bars, when they were unexpectedly ejected from a conveyor adjacent to the work area.

Republic has been the subject of four previous inspections since January 2004, including one that resulted in nine citations for violations of OSHA standards. Among items cited in the earlier inspection were several related to machine guarding.

"Strong enforcement is a key element in reducing workplace injuries and illnesses," said OSHA Area Director Jule Jones, Toledo. "The significant penalty of $98,500 in this case demonstrates our commitment to protecting the health and safety of American workers."




OSHA Reform Bill May Take the Force Out of Enforcement

Four bills introduced by Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA.) that could tighten the reins on OSHA were passed in the House of Representatives last week.

 the ôOccupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act,ö would allow OSHA to give businesses more than 15 days to respond to a citation. the ôOccupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act.ö would make it easier for businesses with less than 100 employees that defend themselves successfully against an OSHA citation and to recover attorneyÆs fees more easily. The bill passed 235-187, along party lines. Democrats George Miller (D-CA), and Major Owens (D-NY) wrote that this bill ôàalters the process in a one-sided manner that disadvantages workers, encourage litigation, and undermines health and safety protectionà unless the agency can guarantee that it will win every case that it brings, HR 742 punishes OSHA for trying to enforce the lawà the OSH Act does not afford workers a private right of action. If OSHA fails to enforce the law, workers have no other means of doing so.ö Republican Rep. Charlie Norwood said, ôNever again would OSHA agents be able to intimidate small businesses by filing frivolous charges, knowing that it will cost the business owner more to defend themselves in court than paying the fine they donÆt feel is fair. The bill will put a stop to ôOSHA court-cost blackmail,ö he said.

the ôOccupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act,ö would add two more administrative law judges to the three-panel Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), which hears appeals of violations. At its current size, the commission frequently has to delay hearings because it lacks a quorum. The bill is intended to remedy this situation, but the Democrats opposed this bill because they feared it could allow the appointment of OSHRC judges less friendly to worker safety.

 the ôOccupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act,ö would require judges to defer to the OSHRC when OSHA cases are appealed to the courts.

Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY.), on the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety have committed to introducing companion reform measures in the Senate later this year.

Bills that have been introduced and are awaiting a vote include:

New Maine Alliance Aimed at Telecom Job Safety

Safe and healthful working conditions for Maine's telecommunications workers is the goal of a newly signed alliance among OSHA, Maine's "Safety Works" consultation program, the Maine Department of Transportation (Maine DOT), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Society of Cable Telecommunication Engineers (SCTE).

SCTE is a non-profit association dedicated to advancing the careers of cable telecommunications professionals and serving the industry through professional development, information and standards.

"Telecommunications workers' duties expose them to such hazards as falls, contact with energized cables or being struck by traffic," said Anthony Lemire, OSHA's acting area director for Maine. "This alliance is a combined effort to equip workers in Maine's cable industry with the knowledge and skills to effectively identify and prevent these hazards."