Investigators from the DOT Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) recently conducted a compliance inspection of George Welding & Supply Co., Inc. As a result of that inspection, PHMSA has determined that George Welding & Supply Co., Inc., marked an unknown number of high pressure compressed gas cylinders with unauthorized Requalifier Identification Numbers (RIN). In addition, the evidence suggests that George Welding & Supply Co., Inc. marked and certified an unknown number of high pressure compressed gas cylinders as being properly requalified in accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) when it had not conducted the testing prescribed by the HMR. PHMSA has no record that George Welding & Supply Co., Inc., was ever approved to requalify DOT-specification cylinders or mark such cylinders as being requalified.
The evidence suggests that George Welding & Supply Co., Inc., used RINs that were issued by PHMSA to other companies authorizing cylinder requalification. Each of the companies with an authorized RIN has been granted authority to requalify cylinders under the terms of the RIN supplied to them.
A cylinder requalification consisting of a visual inspection and a hydrostatic test, conducted as prescribed in the HMR, is used to verify the structural integrity of a cylinder. If the requalification is not performed in accordance with the HMR, a cylinder with compromised structural integrity may be inadvertently returned to service when it should be condemned. Extensive property damage, serious personal injury, or death could result from rupture of a cylinder.
If cylinders have been taken to or received from George Welding & Supply Co., Inc., between calendar years 2001 through 2012, these cylinders may not have been properly tested as prescribed by the HMR. These cylinders should be considered unsafe and unauthorized for the filling of hazardous material, unless and until the cylinder is first tested properly by an individual or company authorized to requalify DOT specification cylinders. Cylinders described in this safety advisory that are filled with an atmospheric gas should be vented or otherwise safely discharged. Cylinders that are filled with a material other than an atmospheric gas should not be vented but instead should be safely discharged. Prior to refilling, the cylinders must be taken to a DOT-authorized cylinder requalifier to ensure their suitability for continued service.
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Northeastern Wisconsin Wood Products Fined More than $184,000 for Willful and Repeat Violations
OSHA has cited Northeastern Wisconsin Wood Products for 16 alleged health and safety, including four willful and six repeat, violations after conducting a follow-up inspection at the company's Pound, Wisconsin, facility. Many are for exposing workers to amputation hazards. Proposed penalties total $184,800.
"Northeastern Wisconsin Wood Products has a history of failing to comply with OSHA standards dating back to 2006. Even after being placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program and working with the Wisconsin state consultation service, the company has yet to abate many violations cited in previous inspections," said Nick Walters, OSHA's regional administrator in Chicago. "When employers knowingly ignore safety and health requirements, they are unduly placing their workers at risk for illnesses and injuries, and that is unacceptable."
Four willful safety violations involve a lack of machine guarding on conveyors, belts, pulleys, gears, band and trim saw blades, and woodworking machinery, as well as unguarded open-sided floors and platforms presenting a fall hazard greater than 4 feet. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Three repeat health violations involve failing to implement a hearing conservation program for workers whose noise exposure exceeded 85 decibels, and develop and implement a hazard communication program to include training for workers exposed to wood dust, diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid. Additionally, the company allowed unsanitary conditions to pose serious fire and explosion hazards by letting sawdust accumulate in piles by the outer wall and on horizontal surfaces such as pipes, wall supports, and ledges.
Three repeat safety violations include failing to provide potable water for drinking, periodically inspect energy control procedures, and use group lockout devices. A repeat violation exists 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. Similar violations were cited in July 2011.
Four serious safety violations include failing to reduce compressed air for cleaning to 30 lb. per square inch or below; cover splices, joints and free ends of conductors with an insulating device; place covers on junction boxes; and provide adequate lockout devices. 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.
Two other-than-serious safety violations have been cited for using flexible cords instead of fixed wiring and burned damage to metal conduit. 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.
The Pound facility manufactures parts used for wood pallets and containers. The most recent follow-up inspection was due to violations cited as a result of a January 2011 inspection after which the company was cited for 18 violations and placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which concentrates on employers that have demonstrated recalcitrance or indifference to their Occupational Safety and Health Act obligations by committing willful, repeated or failure-to-abate violations. Citations from that inspection were issued in July 2011. The company contested the citations; however, the Occupational Health and Review Commission issued a default judgment, and the citations became final orders March 2, 2012.
OSHA Finds 14 Safety and Health Violations During Follow-up Inspection of Miami Valley Polishing
OSHA has cited Miami Valley Polishing, LLC, for 14—including seven repeat—safety and health violations at the company's Piqua, Ohio, facility. OSHA conducted an inspection in July as a follow-up to a May 2011 inspection that resulted in citations for failing to evaluate workers' exposure to chromium and lock out the energy sources of machinery, among other violations. Proposed fines for the most recent inspection total $57,144.
"Miami Valley Polishing is compromising the health and safety of its workers by allowing previously cited deficiencies to continue without correction," said Bill Wilkerson, OSHA's area director in Cincinnati. "Training employees and evaluating their exposure to hazardous chemicals such as chromium is vital to their long-term safety and health. OSHA is committed to protecting workers on the job."
Specifically, the seven repeat violations include failing to administer a continuing, effective hearing conservation program for workers whose noise exposure exceeds a time-weighted average of 85 decibels for eight hours; train workers on the hazards of exposure to hazardous chemicals such as chromium; develop a hazard communication program; provide information on the use of respirators; lock out machinery during servicing; guard machines; and use compressed air below 30 lb. per square inch for cleaning.
Three serious violations involve failing to establish an audiometric testing program, using a ladder that did not extend more than 3 feet above the roof line and not providing strain relief for electrical cords.
Four other-than-serious violations involve failing to record injuries and illnesses in the OSHA 300 log for the year 2012, develop and implement an emergency action plan, and mount and maintain portable fire extinguishers.
Miami Valley Polishing employs about 40 workers at its Piqua facility, where stainless steel, aluminum and other metals are polished.
Craft Brewer Cited by OSHA for Safety Hazards at New Hampshire Brewery
OSHA has cited Portland, Oregon-based Craft Brew Alliance, Inc., with 14 alleged serious violations of workplace safety standards following the April 24 death of an employee at the company's Redhook Brewery in Portsmouth. The employee was using a compressed air line to purge liquid from the interior of a plastic keg when the keg exploded and fatally struck him.
An investigation by OSHA's Concord Area Office determined that the explosion resulted from excess air pressure introduced into the keg from the keg cleanout line. The line lacked an air regulator that would have limited its air pressure to less than 60 PSI, or lb. per square inch, which is the maximum air pressure limit recommended by keg manufacturers. In this case, OSHA also found that other employees who used the cleanout line were exposed to the same hazard while cleaning out steel kegs.
One serious violation related to the fatality is exposing employees to struck-by hazards by exceeding manufacturers' recommended air pressure maximum while cleaning out kegs.
"The inability to regulate air pressure when cleaning out kegs exposed employees to a recognized hazard of being struck by debris should the kegs explode due to being overpressurized," said Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA's New Hampshire area director. "One means of correcting this hazard, among others, and preventing future deaths or injuries is to install an air pressure regulator on the keg cleanout line so that the air pressure does not exceed manufacturers' recommended maximum."
OSHA's inspection of the brewery identified numerous additional hazards unrelated to the explosion. These include deficiencies in procedures for work in a confined space, incomplete procedures for locking out machines' power sources before performing maintenance, unguarded machinery, the improper storage of oxygen and acetylene tanks, and failing to inform welders of chromium hazards. Thirteen additional serious violations have been cited for these conditions.
Craft Brew Alliance, Inc., faces a total of $63,500 in proposed fines.
Healthy Homes Now A Click Away With New Maine Lead-Safe Rental Registry
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s lead-safety level addition to the site gives renters the ability to find lead-based paint free, safe, and maintained property listings.
MaineHousingSearch.org is a free service for renters and landlords that was launched in 2009 by the Maine State Housing Authority and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to provide a one-stop source to share and search for rental properties statewide.
The registry added a smoke-free housing search option in 2011 with support from the Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine. Other features to focus a search include location, cost, handicap accessibility, distances to local services, and security.
The new lead-safety status search option was developed by DEP and MaineHousing with support from the Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund, managed by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and made available to landlords in September. Already, around 900 properties have been listed with one of the three lead statuses, most of which are currently vacant.
“This registry recognizes landlords who have taken the right steps to provide healthy housing and helps those committed to keeping their families safe find the information to do so easily,” said DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho. “The result is healthier bottom lines for landlords and healthier renters.”
The addition of the lead-safety status was welcomed by MaineHousing, which actively promoted the service to its vast network of landlords.
DEP evaluates each property before it is posted to ensure it is either free of lead paint, maintained using best practices for lead hazard prevention, or inspected by a licensed lead professional.
The feature will make it easier for Mainers to protect themselves and their families from the harms of lead-based paint, prevalent in properties built before 1978. Maine has one of the nation’s oldest housing stocks, and more than 100 children here are poisoned by lead each year, most commonly by the dust from lead-based paint that ends up on the surfaces of what children play on and with.
Children under the age of 6 are most at risk for lead poisoning because they are more likely to put their hands and other objects into their mouths and their brains are developing rapidly. The harmful effects of lead can cause brain and hearing damage, lower intelligence, behavioral problems and learning disabilities.
“Providing information about lead paint safety in rental units is a great addition to the family of free lead poisoning prevention efforts offered in Maine,” said State Toxicologist Andrew Smith, who oversees the Maine CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. “Property owners can also take advantage of a free, professional testing service to find out if they have dust from lead paint in their units—and use that information to help meet the requirements to market their listings on the housing registry.” More information on tests for landlords and other related resources can be obtained by calling Maine Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Manager Eric Frohmberg at (866) 292-3474.
Non-fatal Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in Indiana Remain at Historic Low
Non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses in Indiana remained at the lowest rate since 2009, according to the annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) report. The rate represents a continuing trend over the past 11 years, moving from 9.5 per 100 workers in 1996, to 4.3 for 2011. Indiana’s four major industries, manufacturing, state and local government, health care, and retail trade drive the state’s overall rate. Three of the sectors are down or remain the same as last year (manufacturing, state and local government, and retail trade). The lone increase was in health care.
This is the third year the injury and illness rate has remained at 4.3, with improvements noted in a number of industries. The data demonstrates that Hoosiers continue to be safer at work with a decline in the injury and illness rate of 54% since 1996.
“The continued low rate of injuries and illnesses of Hoosier workers is good news for our employees and our state, and demonstrates that the safety and health of Hoosier workers continues to be a priority with government, businesses, and employees,” said Lori A. Torres, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Labor.
While the overall rate has been stable, industries where IDOL has a particular safety focus saw improvements. The most significant declines were recorded in the industry rates for State and Local Government, which went down 10% from 2010, and in the Retail Trade sector where rates went down by 5%.
Transportation and Warehousing, another major industry in Indiana, demonstrated a decline of 6% over the prior year. The rate in construction is 3.9 per 100, which is significantly below the state average of 4.3, but higher than in 2010.
The Indiana Manufacturing sector, an area of significant effort by state labor officials, maintained its 5.2 per 100 workers rate despite an increase in sector employment of nearly 20,000 in 2011. Construction also had an increase in employment, accompanied with a slight increase in injuries (from 3.8 to 3.9).
Increases were recorded in Agriculture (from 7.2 in 2010 to 9.5 in 2011), Mining (from 3.3 in 2010 to 4.7 in 2011), and Health Care (from 5.9 in 2010 to 6.3 in 2011). While the Department of Labor has little jurisdiction in the Agriculture sector, a new safety campaign will be launched in late 2012 focused on the health care sector.
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