OSHA Inspection: EARTHMOVERS UNLIMITED, INC.

Issued

Jun 19, 1986

Abate by

Jun 24, 1986

Penalty

Initial $420 · Current $420

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were
free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death
or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to
burn hazards from exposure to slides from a burning bank of hot ash into
an impounding water basin:
a) Two employees (truck drivers) standing near an impounding water basin
were exposed to serious (steam) burns when a hot ash bank (being
worked at the toe by a model 600 Dart endloader) slid into the water
accumulation causing an "explosion type" cloud of water (steam) vapor
dust and other hot material, May 14, 1986.
Among other methods, some feasible and acceptable abatement methods to
correct this hazard are to establish and enforce the following:
1) The hot ash bank, ranging in heights up to 35 feet (approximately) at
a slope up to 35 degrees (approximately) shall be worked only by the
Lima 2400 Dragline in its present state.
or,
2) The Lima Dragline can level (and reduce) the working face to a height
(maximum allowable) of 20 feet before the Dart endloader works the
base (tip) of the face.
However, all employees (and non-employees) shall be restricted by
supervised methods from being closer than 150 feet of the ash bank
base (tip) while either the Lima Dragline or the Dart loader is
working the ash bank face and all loading operations or leveling
operations by the endloader and a dragline shall cease until the
trucks are placed in position to accept a load and the truck drivers
are out of the trucks and a 150 feet away from the tip of the ash
bank.  All operations will cease after the trucks are loaded until
the driver enter their trucks and are 150 feet away from the tip of
the ash bank.
3) Another alternative method which would allow employees up to 75 feet
during loading/working operations would be to decrease the height of
the hot ash bank to 12 feet total height at 27 degrees or under slope
angle. This would be allowable only by the Lima Dragline working the
top and sides from present height.

Issued

Jun 19, 1986

Abate by

Jun 29, 1986

Penalty

Initial $210 · Current $210

Issued

Jun 19, 1986

Abate by

Jun 29, 1986

Issued

Jun 19, 1986

Abate by

Jun 22, 1986

Issued

Jun 19, 1986

Abate by

Jun 22, 1986

Issued

Jun 19, 1986

Abate by

Jul 19, 1986