OSHA Inspection: COORS BREWING COMPANY

Issued

Oct 23, 1990

Abate by

Mar 4, 1993

Penalty

Initial $900 · Current $900

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:
a) A hazardous chemical (iodine) atmosphere with a potential for
oxygen deficiency and elevated levels of carbon dioxide while working
in confined spaces (fermentation tanks) in Cellar 13 of the Fermenta-
tion Department, The following elements from the American National
Standard Safety Requirements for Confined Spaces (ANSI Z117.1-1989)
were not sufficiently addressed in the Coor's Confined Space Entry
Policy and Procedures No. 12-14:
5.0 Permit Required Confined Spaces (PRCS)
5.1 Entry Permits. A permit shall be established for all PRCS
entries. This document shall include:
5.1.2 The hazards to be controlled or eliminated prior to
proceeding with the entry:
5.1.6 The type of equipment which will be necessary for a
rescue and how aid will be summoned in the event of an
emergency.
5.3.1 Atmospheric test results shall be within acceptable
limits per Section 6.0 of the standard. If atmospheric test
results are not within acceptable limits, precautions to
protect entrants against the hazards shall be addressed on
the permit and in place:
6.0 Atmospheric Testing
6.1 Requirements, Before entry into a confined space, testing
shall be conducted for hazardous atmospheric by a qualified
person. Testing equipment used in classified areas shall be
listed or approved for use in such areas. This listing or
approval shall be from nationally recognized testing laboratories
such as Underwriters Laboratories or factory Mutual Systems.
6.2 Testing Considerations, Testing of confined spaces shall
be conducted throughout he entire portion of the space to be
occupied.
6.3.2 Whenever testing of the atmosphere indicates that
levels of oxygen, flammability, toxicity are not within
acceptable limits, entry shall be prohibited until appropri-
ate controls are implemented or appropriate personal protec-
tive equipment is provided.
Functional checks should be performed on the equipment before each
entry using manufacturer's recommended methods, periodically, equip-
ment with internal calibration devices should be calibrated and main-
tained per manufacturer's instructions.
11.0 Personal Proctective Equipment (PPE)
11.2 Selection, Employees shall wear personal protective
equipment (i.e. respiratory protection) selected in ac-
cordance with the requirements of the job to be performed
and meeting the specifications of applicable standards.
12.0 Safeguards
12.2 Retrieval Equipment. Appropriate retrieval equipment
or methods shall be used whenever a person enters a PRCS,
Exception: If the retrieval equipment increases the overall
risks of entry or does not contribute to the rescue, its use
may be waived.
14.0 Emergency Response
14.0 Emergency Response Plan. A plan of action shall be
written with provisions to conduct a timely rescue for
Included in these provisions shall be:
14.1.1 Determination of what methods of rescue must be
implemented to retrieve individuals:
14.1.2 Designation of rescue personnel that are immediately
available where PRCS entries are conducted:
14.1.3 Type and availability of equipment needed to rescue
individuals:
14.1.4 effective means to summon rescuers in a timely
manner:
14.1.5 Training and drill of the attendant and rescue per-
sonnel in preplanning, rescue and emergency procedures
according to section 15 of this standard.
14.2 Breathing Equipment, all rescue personnel must use self-
contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or Combination Type C
Airline/SCBA breathing equipment, when entering the confined
space to rescue victims.
If it is established that the cause of the emergency is not a
hazardous atmosphere, rescue breathing equipment is not
required.
14.3 Rescue Equipment Inspection, All rescue equipment shall
be inspected periodically by a qualified person and prior
to work to ensure that is is operable.
Note: All affected employees would need to be trained as speci-
fied in section 15.0 Training of the ANSI Z117.1-1989
after all of the above deficiencies are corrected.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to
correct these hazards is to fully implement the Americal National
Standard Safety Requirement for Confined Spaces (ANSI Z117.1-1989).

Issued

Oct 23, 1990

Abate by

Jun 4, 1993

Penalty

Initial $700 · Current $700

Issued

Oct 23, 1990

Abate by

Jun 4, 1993

Issued

Oct 23, 1990

Abate by

Jun 4, 1993