Permit Required Confined Spaces

I have several clients who offload ships/containers in this manner. Whenever I see this, I immediately go to “that is a PRCS”. The ship/container is for sure a CS, and the fact that we have an engine putting off CO inside the ship/container makes the space a PRCS. I am fortunate enough to have great…...

SPECIAL NOTE: This appears to be the first case where OSHA has applied it’s new Instance-by-Instance Penalty for Willful Citations.  This case involved a leg amupation while working inside a sile with the paddle conveyor still running.  OSHA issued three (3) Willfuls using 1910.28(b)(6)(i) for each citation and all three (3) were willfuls. An grain…...

In OSHA’s LOTO standard, they incorporated a requirement that required businesses to have forethought about the means used to isolate energy.  Specifically, the standard requires: 1910.147(c)(2)(iii) After January 2, 1990, whenever replacement or major repair, renovation or modification of a machine or equipment is performed, and whenever new machines or equipment are installed, energy isolating…...

On June 7, 2022, an employee working as an environmental engineer was replacing two failed pumps in a pump station. Two coworkers connected the new pumps to electricity, and the employee lowered the pumps into the vault. It was noted that the pumps weren’t working correctly, and water was pumped from the space. The employee…...

This Safety Alert addresses the importance of verifying atmospheric conditions in fish holds on commercial fishing vessels. There are specific hazards associated with the use of brine dip solutions, a common substance used in the industry. Brine dip combined with standing water can produce dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The U.S. Coast Guard is…...

At 12:00 a.m. on June 16, 2022, Employee #1 and a coworker were filling train cars with soybeans. Both employees entered the grain bin from the top entry door to investigate why the soybeans were not flowing through the bottom gates of the bin. While inside, Employee #1 was engulfed by the soybeans and the…...

The Denver Regional Office brought to our attention a fatal accident involving a 20-pound propane cylinder regulator that broke off when the cylinder fell. The regulator was vulnerable to this kind of damage because it protruded past the cylinder’s protective collar. Using unguarded regulators on propane cylinders appears to be a common practice on construction…...

OSHA determined that an Arkansas construction contractor failed to test oxygen levels in the confined space before two workers entered a sewer 20 feet below ground at an Edmund work site and died because of a lack of oxygen.  The investigation into the June 14, 2022, incident found that an employee climbed into a newly…...