I will never understand why/how a location identifies a hazard, in this case, OSHA identified it, failed to take that learning, and did NOT APPLY it across the business where that hazard is present. In this case, a federal workplace safety investigation at a cattle processing plant – now cited seven times by inspectors for endangering workers since March 2020 – found employees exposed to high carbon dioxide levels. Dry ice used to keep meat at safe temperatures emits carbon dioxide gas. OSHA alleges that – despite knowing hazardous levels of carbon dioxide, management did not put an employee monitoring program in place or implement effective engineering controls to limit workers’ exposure to the dangers.
In September 2022, OSHA measurements showed the company allowed employees to be exposed to carbon dioxide ranging from 7,100 to 10,000 parts per million, far exceeding the OSHA permissible exposure level standard of 5,000 parts per million.
OSHA cited the company in November 2020 for allowing the same hazard to exist at the Missouri processing plant.
In all, OSHA has issued the company citations for 35 violations in five previous inspections from its 2020 opening through May 2022. An additional inspection remains open at the plant.
Citation 1 Item 1 a
Type of Violation: Willful – Serious; $156,259
29 CFR 1910.1000(a)(2): Employee(s) were exposed to an airborne concentration of carbon dioxide listed in Table Z-1 in excess of the 8 hour Time Weighted Average concentration of 5,000 parts per million:
The employer is failing to protect employees from chemical exposure hazards associated with carbon dioxide (dry ice) in the fabrication area. This was most recently documented on September 7, 2022, at the worksite located at 1921 West US Highway 50, Lone Jack, Missouri.
Employees were exposed to respiratory hazards associated with the exposure of carbon dioxide released by dry ice when employees were exposed to levels in excess of 5,000 ppm.
a) An employee working in the fabrication area was exposed to an 8 hour time weighted average (TWA) level of 7,100 ppm, which is 1.42 times the OSHA permissible exposure level (PEL) of 5,000 ppm.
b) An employee working in the fabrication area was exposed to an 8 hour time weighted average (TWA) level of 7,200 ppm, which is 1.44 times the OSHA permissible exposure level (PEL) of 5,000 ppm.
c) An employee working in the fabrication area was exposed to an 8 hour time weighted average (TWA) level of 7,200 ppm, which is 1.44 times the OSHA permissible exposure level (PEL) of 5,000 ppm.
d) An employee working in the fabrication area was exposed to an 8 hour time weighted average (TWA) level of 8,000 ppm, which is 1.59 times the OSHA permissible exposure level (PEL) of 5,000 ppm.
e) An employee working in the fabrication area was exposed to an 8 hour time weighted average (TWA) level of 8,900 ppm, which is 1.78 times the OSHA permissible exposure level (PEL) of 5,000 ppm.
f) An employee working in the fabrication area was exposed to an 8 hour time weighted average (TWA) level of 10,000 ppm, which is 2 times the OSHA permissible exposure level (PEL) of 5,000 ppm.
The business was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard, which was contained in OSHA inspection number 1475907, citation number 1, item number 2/b and was affirmed as a final order on 09-14-2021, with respect to a workplace located at 1921 West US Highway 50, Lone Jack, Missouri.
Citation 1 Item 1b
Type of Violation: Willful – Serious
29 CFR 1910.1000(e): Feasible administrative or engineering controls were not determined and implemented to achieve compliance with the limits prescribed in 29 CFR 1910.1000(a) through (d):
a) The employer is failing to protect employees from chemical exposure hazards associated with carbon dioxide in the fabrication area. This was most recently documented on 7 Sep 2022 at the worksite located at 1921 West US Highway 50, Lone Jack, Missouri.
Employees were exposed to respiratory hazards when employees were exposed to carbon dioxide levels in excess of the PEL without the use of any effective administrative or engineering controls in place.
The business was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard, which was contained in OSHA inspection number 1475907, citation number 1, item number 2/c and was affirmed as a final order on 02-14-2022, with respect to a workplace located at 1921 West US Highway 50, Lone Jack, Missouri.
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