Grain cooperative fined nearly $230,000 for exposing workers to combustible dust, fall and other hazards

OSHA fined Cenex Harvest States Inc., doing business as Central Montana Co-Op., $229,000 for willfully disregarding OSHA requirements by failing to test for hazardous atmospheres in permit-required spaces at its Columbus, Mont., facility. The company was also cited for repeat violations involving unguarded pit and floor holes, and dangerous accumulations of potentially explosive dust. OSHA investigated the facility as part of its regional emphasis program targeting grain handling establishments. The company was cited in August 2010 and February 2011 for similar violations at two of its other facilities.

OSHA sent a notification letter in August 2010 and another in February 2011 to a total of more than 13,000 grain elevator operators, warning them of proper safety precautions outlined in the Grain Handling Facilities standard. These include prohibiting entry in grain storage facilities while grain is being emptied out or flowing in or out of the bin, prohibiting employees from "walking down the grain" and ensuring that employees enter the bin with the proper safety equipment.

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Tire company and two contractors fined more than $250,000 for exposing workers to combustible dust and other hazards

OSHA cited Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. and two of its maintenance contractors $254,900and cited them with 25 safety violations at Cooper's Tupelo, Miss.,plant, including exposing workers to hazards associated with combustible dust. OSHA opened a December 2010 inspection in Tupelo following an inspection at the company's Findlay, Ohio, plant that uncovered multiple workplace hazards.

Cooper was fined for 14 violations that included willfully disregarding requirements to provide workers with protection from fires and explosions in the plant's ductwork, particle size separators, dust collectors and conveyor systems, and to install equipment and use wiring methods that were approved specifically for hazardous locations. Other violations included failing to replace or repair defective safety latches on a hoist, failing to use a standard guardrail to protect employees from dangerous equipment, and allowing combustible dust to accumulate in the handling systems.

Two maintenance contractors working with Cooper, JESCO Maintenance Corp. and IH Services, were cited with a total of 11 violations that included allowing explosive carbon black to accumulate; exposing workers to electrical hazards; and allowing the wiring and installations of equipment in hazardous locations not designed or approved for those locations.

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Feed company fined more than $100,000 for exposing workers to suffocation, combustible dust and other hazards

OSHA fined Lakeland Feed and Supply $122,500 and issued the company 30 citations for exposing workers to hazards including suffocation in grain bins at its Hamilton, Mont., facility. The inspection was initiated under OSHA's Regional Emphasis Program that targets grain handling establishments in the state.

Serious violations included employees walking on grain in the bins; not locking out augers when employees enter the bins; platforms missing guarding; the lack of an emergency evacuation plan and no fire alarm system; high levels of potentially explosive dust; exposed live electrical lines; and improper electrical wiring for high dust areas.

Since 2009, OSHA has issued fines exceeding $100,000 per employer to grain operators across the country following preventable fatalities and injuries. In addition to enforcement actions, OSHA sent a notification letter in August 2010 and another in February 2011 to a total of more than 13,000 grain elevator operators warning them of proper safety precautions. See the news release for more information.

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Company fined almost $240,000 after worker loses his arm

OSHA cited Prologix Distribution Services-East LLC with 14 safety and health violations and fined the company $239,000 after a worker was seriously injured at the company's Doral, Fla., facility. OSHA began a safety investigation in August 2010 following a report that a worker trapped in a machine had to have his right arm amputated at the elbow. In September, the agency began a separate inspection focused on health-related concerns at the plant. Inspectors found that the company willfully disregarded the safety of workers by allowing them to operate unsafe machinery. The company also exposed workers to the risk of serious injury or death from explosion hazards from combustible dust accumulation and improperly stored propane tanks.

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Combustible Dust

Causes of a Dust Explosion (right, Fire Triangle)

1) Fuel: combustible dust
2) Oxygen: oxidizer
3) Heat: ignition source

Also:

4) Confinement of a dust cloud
5) Sufficient dispersion of dust particles in quantity and concentration

The latter two create an explosion pentagon. If airborne dust is ignited within a confined space, it burns rapidly and could explode. Employee safety is threatened by potential explosions, fires, debris and building collapse.

If one of the elements of the explosion pentagon is missing, a catastrophic explosion cannot occur. Without sufficient heat and oxygen, a fire cannot begin. Without fuel, a fire will stop.

To stop a combustion reaction, one of the three elements has to be removed:

• Suppression of fuel: by closing of the valve fueling the combustion, creating sufficient distance between fire and flame, exhausting hot smoke, etc.
  
  
• Suppression of oxygen (choking): use of a carbon dioxide fire-extinguisher, blanket, or spraying sufficient water on a solid combustible
  
  
• Suppression of heat (cooling down): by spraying water into a mixture of air and combustible particles, net absorbing the heat, removal of hot smoke
  

It is nearly impossible to eliminate two of the elements in the explosion pentagon: oxygen and the space that confines the dust cloud. However, the other three elements of the pentagon can be significantly controlled.

Businesses should identify the following to assess their potential for dust explosions:

• Fine materials that can become airborne and combustible;
• Processes which use, consume, or produce combustible dusts;
• Areas where combustible dusts may accumulate;
• The ways in which dust may become airborne;
  
• Ignition sources in those areas.

Employees are the first line of defense in preventing fires and explosions. If the workers closest to the source of the hazard are trained to recognize and prevent hazards associated with combustible dust in the building, they can be instrumental in recognizing unsafe conditions, taking preventative action, and/or alerting management. While OSHA standards require training for certain employees. All employees should be trained in safe work practices applicable to their job tasks, as well as on the overall plant programs for dust control and ignition source control. They should be trained before they start work, periodically to refresh their knowledge, when reassigned, and when hazards or processes change.

Employers with hazardous chemicals (including combustible dusts) in their workplaces are required to comply with 29 CFR 1910.1200, the Hazard Communication standard. This includes having labels on containers of hazardous chemicals, using material safety data sheets, and providing employee training.

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SafetyInstruction.com Releases Combustible Dust Training Program

Gerry Janssen Vice President in charge of sales and marketing at Safetyinstruction.com has announced the addition of their “Combustible Dust” Safety Training Program to their comprehensive suite of products. These products enable companies of all sizes to achieve OSHA compliance with Federal regulation 29 CFR 1903.1

He further explains that combustible dust is fine particles, for example sugar, flour, sawdust, paper and coal dust. They present an explosion hazard while suspended in air when certain conditions are present. A dust explosion can be catastrophic, causing death, injuries, and destruction of entire buildings. In many combustible dust accidents employees, and employers were unaware that a hazard even existed.

The Combustible Dust training program provides company employees with an overview of the hazards associated with combustible dust generation in work operations and site processes. It provides the necessary framework to conduct combustible dust hazard training. Since every company must address their site-specific operational requirements, site instructors will provide the necessary information needed to address their specific industry requirements. Their judgment will be used in adding or editing site-specific information pertinent to safety operations.

The Combustible Dust training program introduces the hazards associated with combustible dust and addresses the applicable safety regulations. It discusses where combustible dust can occur in the workplace, the mechanics of fire, and combustible dust explosions, and hazard assessment requirements. Training also details hazard recognition and control skills, methods of compliance with combustible dust safety. It also addresses engineering controls needed to control hazards, along with discussing actions to take in an emergency situation, and providing tips for using contractors on site.

The future for Safetyinstruction.com looks like a busy one. Watch for their continued growth and success

If you would like more information about this topic and this company please visit www.safetyinstruction.com

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