The spill burned two workers in the refinery’s alkylation unit, who were transported to the nearest hospital burn unit by helicopter. The spill continued for two-and-a-half hours, by which time an estimated 84,000 lb of sulfuric acid was released from equipment onto the refinery grounds and into a process sewer system. Cal/OSHA ordered the process unit to remain shutdown from February 18th until the 28th based on worker testimony that the unit was unsafe. The Cal/OSHA PSM Unit is also conducting a comprehensive inspection at the Tesoro Refinery with an emphasis on mechanical integrity and operating procedures.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, participated in this technical evaluation as part of its regulatory investigation. The incident occurred when the operators opened a block valve to return an acid sampling system back to service. Very shortly after this block valve had been fully opened, the tubing directly downstream of the valve came apart, spraying two operators with acid.
The report, prepared by Anamet—a California-based materials engineering and laboratory testing firm—details findings from laboratory examination of the stainless steel tube assembly recovered by Cal/OSHA following the incident. The report concludes that the sulfuric acid spill immediately followed the failure of a 0.75-inch diameter stainless steel tubing connector that came apart due to insufficient tightening of the tube during installation. The tube was being pressurized at the time of the incident, and was part of a sulfuric acid sampling station in the refinery’s alkylation unit. The insufficient tightening between the tube and a compression joint allowed the tube to be forced from the joint, most likely by internal pressure.
Chemical analysis conducted on the tube assembly found that all of its components, including the tube itself, are constructed of Type 316 stainless steel. Type 316 stainless steel is common in industrial processes that require a high level of resistance to corrosion.
On March 10, 2014, in the same sulfuric acid alkylation unit, two contract workers were sprayed with sulfuric acid while conducting planned maintenance work to remove piping in the alkylation unit. The sulfuric acid sprayed the two workers when they cut into the piping using a portable band saw. The piping was not drained of process chemicals and was still under pressure, despite the refinery’s issuance of a “hot work” permit for the activity. Although the contractors were wearing protective suits while performing the work, they were still burned by the acid. One worker was exposed when his acid suit got caught on scaffolding as he evacuated from the immediate area. The second worker was burned when acid that remained on his acid suit drained onto his neck during decontamination in the safety shower. Both workers were taken to a local hospital by ambulance for evaluation and treatment for their chemical burn injuries.
However, on March 10th there was another incident that also burned two workers with acid in the same production unit. Four workers burned by sulfuric acid in less than a month clearly demonstrates there are significant opportunities within the refinery for improvement in safety performance.”
In the course of its investigation, the CSB has identified multiple incidents at the Tesoro Martinez Refinery over the past several years involving the uncontrolled release of sulfuric acid. These include chemical burns to a contract worker in June 2010, an August 2012 incident where two Tesoro workers were sprayed with acid when a temporary hose ruptured and a January 2012 acid release from a failed pump which injured another worker.
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
OSHA has issued a final rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every product label, safety data sheet (formerly called “material safety data sheet” or MSDS), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on safety data sheets.
EPA’s New Solvent Wipe, Shop Towel Rule Demystified
- Does the rule apply to both cloth and paper wipes and rags?
- What solvents can be on the towels, and which are prohibited?
- Does the rule also apply to towels that contain characteristic hazardous waste?
- Can P or U-listed wastes be on the towels?
- How must the towels be stored on-site?
- Do they need to be tested for anything?
- How long can they be stored?
- How must the containers be marked or labeled?
- How must they be prepared for transportation?
- Where can you ship them and what are the disposal and recycling options?
- What are the documentation requirements?
- How is the new rule impacted by current state regulations?
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OSHA Extends Comment Period on Proposed Rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injury and Illnesses
OSHA recently announced it will extend the comment period on the proposed rule to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses to October 14, 2014.
During the public meeting held on the proposal, many participants expressed concern that the proposal may create motivation for employers to under-record injuries and illnesses, since each covered establishment's injury and illness data would become publicly available on OSHA's website. Participants also expressed concern that the proposal would lead to an increase in the number of employers who adopt practices that discourage employees from reporting recordable injuries and illnesses. OSHA is concerned that the accuracy of the data collected under the new proposal could be compromised if employers adopt these practices.
"OSHA wants to make sure that employers, employees and the public have access to the most accurate data about injuries and illnesses in their workplaces so that they can take the most appropriate steps to protect worker safety and health," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels.
Therefore, OSHA is soliciting comments on whether to amend the proposed rule to: 1) require that employers inform their employees of their right to report injuries and illnesses; 2) more clearly communicate the requirement that any injury and illness reporting requirements established by the employer be reasonable and not unduly burdensome; and 3) provide OSHA an additional remedy to prohibit employers from taking adverse action against employees for reporting injuries and illnesses.
Seeler Industries Fined $134,400 for 19 Safety and Health Violations
The citations carry proposed penalties of $134,400. OSHA initiated an inspection on February 4, 2014, after receiving a complaint alleging hazards at the company's 3 Rivers Terminal in Joliet, which provides storage, transfer, and packaging services for bulk liquid and dry chemicals.
OSHA's investigation found Seeler Industries did not provide employees with an effective training program, including information on appropriate handling and safe use of hazardous chemicals. The company's failure to provide this training resulted in the issuance of the willful citation. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing, or voluntary disregard for the law's requirement, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.
"Workers have the right to know what workplace chemicals they are exposed to and to be protected against exposure, which can have severe health effects," said Kathy Webb, OSHA's area director in Calumet City. "Mishandling chemicals can result in catastrophic fires and explosions. It is the employer's responsibility to protect workers from these hazards."
OSHA's investigation also found that Seeler Industries did not implement engineering controls to reduce employee exposure and failed to label containers with information that identified and warned of the hazardous chemicals contained inside. Workers were exposed to quantities of chemicals greater than the OSHA permissible exposure limit.
Other serious violations were cited for failing to provide fall protection, such as guardrails, and a sanitary work environment; follow respiratory protection standards; and train workers on confined space requirements, the use of personal protective equipment and proper operation of powered industrial vehicles.
A serious violation occurs 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.
Brooklyn Medical Facility Cited for Inadequate Workplace Violence Safeguards
Employees of Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn were exposed to head, eye, face, and groin injuries and intimidation and threats during routine interactions with patients and visitors. The employer failed to protect employees adequately against workplace violence, an inspection OSHA has found. The medical center faces $78,000 in fines following an inspection by OSHA's Manhattan Area Office that began February 10, 2014, in response to a complaint.
OSHA found approximately 40 incidents of workplace violence reported between February 7 and April 12, 2014. These incidents involved employees who were threatened or physically and verbally assaulted by patients and visitors, or when breaking up altercations between patients. The most serious incident was the February 7 assault of a nurse, who sustained severe brain injuries when she was attacked while working.
"Brookdale management was aware of these incidents and did not take effective measures to prevent assaults against its employees. The facility's workplace violence program was ineffective, with many employees unaware of its purpose, specifics or existence," said Kay Gee, OSHA's area director for Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
"The hazard of violence against employees is well-recognized in the health care industry and known to this employer," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "Brookdale must actively and effectively implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Program immediately to ensure the safety and well-being of its workers."
- Administrative controls, including job site hazard assessment, evaluation of existing controls, implementing new policies and procedures and incident reviews
- Engineering controls, including installing panic alarm systems and protective barriers, and configuring treatment areas to maximize an employee's ability to escape workplace violence
- Personal protective equipment, including personal alarm systems for staff and an appropriate system and way to contact security/correctional officers
- Training encompassing workplace violence prevention, stress management, recognition of the signs of potential violence and post-incident procedures and services to treat traumatized employees involved in a workplace violence incident
Brookdale was cited and fined $8,000 for failing to correctly review and certify the OSHA 300A illness and injury reporting form and for not providing forms when requested by the authorized employee representative.
Movie Production Company Cited for Willful and Serious Safety Violations Following Fatality
Sarah Jones, a 27-year-old camera assistant, was killed and eight other workers were injured while trying to escape an oncoming freight train during the filming of a scene on February 20 for the movie "Midnight Rider," a biopic based on the life of musician Gregg Allman. Film Allman, LLC, of Pasadena, California, was cited by OSHA for one willful and one serious safety violation for exposing employees to struck-by and fall hazards.
"Employers are responsible for taking the necessary precautions to protect workers' health and safety, and the entertainment industry is no exception," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "It is unacceptable that Film Allman, LLC, knowingly exposed their crew to moving trains while filming on a live track and railroad trestle."
OSHA initiated the inspection in response to the incident, which occurred during the filming of a scene on the tracks of the Doctortown train trestle in Georgia that spans the Altamaha River. While the crew was filming, a CSX Corp., train traveling on the tracks was observed heading toward them. Crew members immediately started exiting the tracks, trying to remove set pieces and get off the trestle. However, they were unable to outrun the oncoming train. Ms. Jones was killed and eight other crew members were injured by debris when the train hit a hospital bed being used as a set piece.
"Their failure to develop a safety plan to prevent such hazards, including obtaining permission from the rail owner to use the tracks for filming, led to the death of one crew member and injuries to eight other employees," said Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA's Regional Administrator for the Southeast.
A willful citation was issued for the employer's failure to provide safety measures to protect employees from moving trains.
The serious citation was issued for exposing workers to fall hazards while working on a train trestle that was not equipped with safety guardrails or other fall protection measures.
Film Allman, LLC, was on location filming the Gregg Allman biopic. At the time of the incident, the company employed 20 workers on the set and approximately 74 workers nationwide. Proposed penalties total $74,900.
OSHA Issues Notice to McDowell Federal Prison after Workers Exposed to Bloodborne Pathogens
OSHA issued notices to the Federal Correctional Institution at McDowell, a part of the US Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons.
"Federal prison employees are often exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials. It is imperative that employers take every reasonable precaution to protect these workers against these types of safety and health hazards," said Prentice Cline, director of OSHA's Charleston Area Office.
Ten serious violations were identified, including the agency's failure to:
- Train employees on the bloodborne pathogens policy and limitations of personal protective equipment
- Ensure the person conducting training was knowledgeable about the subject
- Use puncture-resistant containers to transport contaminated shanks and other sharps
- Provide health care professionals, who evaluate an employee following an exposure, a copy of the bloodborne pathogens regulation, the exposed employee's duties, documentation of the route of exposure or its circumstances, and medical records relevant to treatment of the employee
- Select and require puncture-resistant gloves while conducting pat-down operations
The federal agency equivalent of a private sector citation is the notice of an unhealthful or unsafe working condition, which informs agency officials of violations. OSHA cannot propose monetary penalties against another federal agency for failure to comply with its standards.
Burrows Paper Corp. Fined $58,800 after Two Workers Sustained Injuries
OSHA has issued two repeat and four serious safety violations to the company for exposing workers to amputation and struck-by hazards. Proposed penalties total $58,800.
. A corporation, such as Burrows Paper, should be well-versed in the safety requirements for operating machinery in its plants," said Bill Wilkerson, OSHA's area director in Cincinnati.
OSHA initiated the first inspection after receiving a complaint that a worker was struck by a trolley car on February 18, 2014, resulting in a leg injury requiring hospitalization. A second complaint inspection was opened after OSHA learned another employee had her hand caught in the chain and sprockets of a packaging machine on March 13, 2014, resulting in a broken finger and missed workdays.
Four serious violations were cited for lack of machine guarding, which enabled the first employee to be struck by the automated trolley, and lack of energy control procedures, such as physically shutting off devices prior to cleaning and setting up equipment and failing to affix lockout devices. Additionally, workers operating and maintaining the machinery were inadequately trained in safety procedures.
OSHA's inspection found that Burrows Paper had not developed procedures to ensure that the packaging machine did not turn on during servicing or maintenance, which contributed to the second worker's injuries. OSHA found the company had an inadequate periodic inspection program for energy control procedures and lacked a review process to ensure procedures were understood and properly implemented. The company was previously cited for violating this standard at its Mount Vernon facility in 2011.
OSHA issues repeat violations if an employer was previously cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.
Headquartered in Little Falls, New York, Burrows Paper operates four paper mills. Three are in New York and the fourth in Pickens, Mississippi. Burrows' packaging operations are located in Franklin and Mt. Vernon, Ohio; Fort Madison, Iowa; and Reno, Nevada. Burrows Paper manufactures machine glaze and machine finish paper grades for a variety of uses, such as medical and food packaging.
Burrows Paper attended an informal conference with OSHA's area director, and reached a settlement with the agency that included accepting all of the proposed violations except one that was modified to a different OSHA Standard.
OSHA Orders Oregon Trucking Company to Reinstate Driver after Unlawful Termination
An Oregon trucker wrongly fired for refusing to drive an unsafe vehicle will get her job back, plus reimbursement for back wages and compensation for fees associated with the case, after an investigation by OSHA.
"We will enforce whistleblower provisions to the fullest extent of the law to protect employees, who should not be retaliated against for following the law," said Ken Atha, acting OSHA regional administrator.
OSHA has ordered Terry Unrein, an independent trucking contractor in Gresham, Oregon, to reinstate a driver fired in late 2011 for refusing to drive a 10,000-pound truck with inadequate tire tread on public highways. Unrein fired the driver eight days after she had the truck's tire replaced before driving on the highway.
The driver filed a whistleblower complaint, and OSHA cited that the driver's termination violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act's employee protection provisions.
Either party to the case can file an appeal to the department's Office of Administrative Law Judges. The appeal does not stay the preliminary reinstatement order.
OSHA Alliance with Consulate General of Honduras to Raise Awareness of Worker Rights
OSHA signed an alliance on August 1 with the Consulate General of Honduras in California to provide vital workplace rights information to Honduran workers and their employers in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Idaho.
"This alliance provides us with a tremendous opportunity to provide a large and varied community of vulnerable workers with information that will enhance the quality of their workplaces and work lives," said Ken Atha, OSHA's regional administrator in San Francisco.
Through the alliance, OSHA and the consulate will deliver information promoting workers' understanding of their rights in the workplace and responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. OSHA and the consulate will communicate this information to employers, and both have agreed to speak and appear at each other's outreach events.
Barbara Goto, deputy regional administrator, represented OSHA at the signing, where she was joined by Hector Manuel Monroy Chavarria, the Consul General of Honduras in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
According to the US Census Bureau, Honduran immigration to the United States nearly tripled between 2000 and 2010. Overall, Hispanics made up 48.3% of the foreign-born labor force in 2012.
The alliance seeks to develop compliance assistance tools and resources and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities. Alliance Program participants do not receive exemptions from OSHA programmed inspections.
OSHA Renews Alliance with Associated Builders and Contractors to Promote Worker Safety in Louisiana
Protecting workers from construction hazards is the goal of a renewed alliance agreement between OSHA and the Associated Builders and Contractors, Pelican Chapter in Baton Rouge.
The goals of the alliance will continue to be achieved through sharing information and guidance, and providing access to training resources to protect employees' health and safety. Focus continues on reducing and preventing exposure to fall hazards-the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry—electrical hazards and struck-by and caught-in-between hazards from vehicles, cranes, and other machinery. Addressing construction and industrial contractor issues will be a priority.
"This alliance reflects our continued commitment to strengthen collaborative efforts to promote safety and health for workers," said Dorinda Folse, OSHA's area director in Baton Rouge. "Because of increased projects and facility expansions throughout south Louisiana, the Pelican Chapter's main campus in Baton Rouge and southwest campus in Westlake will help outreach efforts for a growing workforce."
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