A 48-year-old male employee was crushed inside a machine (COS) while adjusting the grippers that place lead cells into batteries. This employer is a battery manufacturer. On the day of the incident, the victim was called by the machine operator to troubleshoot the COS machine because the grippers were not working. It was determined that the operator would attempt to make the adjustments through manual...

I have walked by hundreds of these “misters” and never considered this hazard!  A 59-year-old male employee contracted legionnaires disease from exposure to water from a cooling mist fan while working in the banbury/mixing area. This company manufactures tires for consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and the agricultural, forestry, and mining...

At 4:45 p.m. on August 14, 2015, Employee #1, a maintenance worker, was lowered into a 12-foot tall 8,000-gallon polyethylene tank using a rope with a loop to stand on and the other end connected to a rough terrain forklift operated by the manager of the farm. The tank was used to store liquid whey added to the animal feed. Employee #1 was instructed to open a broken ball valve so the liquid whey would...

At 9:30 a.m. on November 8, 2015, an employee was cleaning the inner lining of a railcar that was previously transporting latex. The employee lost consciousness while inside of a railcar with an oxygen-deficient atmosphere. First responders attempted to rescue the employee but could not revive/resuscitate them. A second employee who entered the railcar lost consciousness and was rescued and transported...

At 2:30 p.m., Employee #1, Employee #2, and Employee #3 were tasked with dismantling a scaffolding level within a containment dome (identified as PMDI A-3600). During their dismantling work, at approximately 80 feet above the ground, alarms specific to phosgene gas were triggered. The process within this Dome was the manufacturing and using phosgene to facilitate the production of PMDI (an isocyanate)....

A recent accident has me explaining the fundamentals of our profession that so many seem to have lost in the past decades.  You have a hazard; DISTANCE yourself from that hazard If you can not put DISTANCE between you and the hazard, then a BARRIER is necessary Our Hot Work Programs are a perfect example of this fundamental hazard management approach.  The HW job poses a serious hazard to...

On January 11, 2022, OSHA began an inspection at your facility located at XXXXXXXXXXX, MA. The inspection revealed that employees in Flower Production were exposed to occupational quantities of whole and ground cannabis and were not provided effective information and training on the hazards involved in the cannabis production and grinding process. On January 7, 2022, an employee died of occupational...

Respondent is the owner and/or operator of a gas processing plant that has on-site for use/storage 55,126 pounds of sulfur dioxide, 8,240 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, 130,000 pounds of butane, and over 10,000 pounds of hydrogen.  Respondent has three RMProgram level 3 covered processes, which store or otherwise use sulfur dioxide, butane, and hydrogen. Sulfur dioxide, butane, and hydrogen are...

At 7:00 a.m. on March 25, 2022, an employee entered a grain bin. The grain bin was 28 feet in diameter. The center of the bin had floor grate(s) with a conveyor underneath turned on to move grain. The grain was not flowing, so the employee entered the bin from a top hatch and climbed onto the grain. Approximately 6,000 bushels of corn were in the grain bin. The employee walked on the grain and used...

At 10:15 a.m. on February 16, 2022, Employee #1, 27, removed a flange from an overhead pipe as part of a multi-employer pipe replacement project. He was not aware that a different pipeline had been locked out. A heated slurry solution of boric acid and zinc oxide was released from the pipe he was working on, causing burns to his body. Employee #1 was hospitalized to treat his burn injuries. …...

Flammable processing areas are required to have exhaust ventilation per 1910.106(e)(3)(v).   But we continue to see serious errors in the ventilation design basis, specifically where the vapors are being exhausted. The OSHA standard simply states the vapors must be exhausted to a “safe location,” but this phrase is not defined nor quantified in 1910.106. 1910.106(e)(3)(v)(a) Areas...

Listen to this 1980 news recap of the 1970 Crescent City, IL LPG BLEVEs.  Talking about Railcar design and labeling needs.  It seems like crazy times compared to what we have now.