OSHA Inspection: FIBER MATERIALS, INC.

Issued

Jul 10, 1989

Abate by

Oct 10, 1989

Penalty

Initial $800 · Current $800

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
burns from the operation of graphitizers.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method is to
provide additional engineering safeguards:
Building 1, Area 6 - The following engineering safeguards were not
provided to minimize employee exposure to burns:
a) Firewalls were not provided between the three graphs (#22, #23 and
#26).
b) Automatic closing fire doors in said fire walls were not provided.
c) Automatic temperature monitoring was not provided.
d) Closed circuit TV was not installed to provided remote viewing
graphs.
e) Increased insulation was not provided inside the graphs.
f) Combustible gas sensing with automatic alarm was not provided.
g) Thermal survey of graphs was not provided.
h) Emergency cooling of graph extensions complete with emergency water
dump capabiltiy was not provided.
i) Improved pressure relief (i.e. blowout panels, screws) was not
provided in building walls.
j) Testing for coil lining integrity was not conducted.
k) Hydraulic testing of coils and connections was not performed.
l) A preventive Maintenance Program on control panels including
ground-fault protection devices and coils was not provided.
m) A system was developed to determine a life cycle for the graphs
and their critical components.