OSHA Inspection: TRACEY ELECTRONICS INCORPORATED

Issued

Jun 15, 1988

Abate by

Jun 18, 1988

Penalty

Initial $160 · Current $160

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 is that employees were exposed to
ingestion of an acid solution and burns to the mouth:
a) An employee mouth pipetting a cupric chloride solution, containing
hydrochloric acid, sodium chlorate, and copper ions, for a titration
procedure was exposed to a burn hazard.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to
correct this hazard is to use bulb pipette pumps to draw liquid through
the pipette.

Issued

Jun 15, 1988

Abate by

Jun 18, 1988

Penalty

Initial $200 · Current $200

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
potential chlorine gas exposure:
a) An employee etching printed circuit boards was exposed to a potential
chlorine gas release due to the following:
1) There was no alarm system to alert the employee of chlorine gas
releases into the atmosphere.
2) The cupric chloride etching tank was inadequately vented to prevent
the release of chlorine gas into work areas.
3) Standard operating procedures for the operation of the cupric
chloride tank were not established.
4) The VIS-U-ETCH system regulating the chemical balance of the cupric
chloride and the etch solution was not monitored properly.
Among other methods, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to
correct this hazard include the following:
1) Install an environmental air monitoring system that defects chlorine
gas and alerts the employees.
2) Improve ventilation system efficiency by:
-washing down ventilation ducts to minimize salt buildup.
-monitoring ventilation system flow rates on a regular basis.
-installing an in-line scrubber system.
3) Conduct a job hazard analysis of the cupric chloride etchning process
and incorporate it into standard operating procedures.
4) Institute a quality control program to ensure the correct
calibration of the VIS-U-ETCH system and of the etch solution with
emphasis on proper laboratory methods and inventory of reagents.
5) Switch to a less hazardous etching process, such as ferric chloride.

Issued

Jun 8, 1988

Abate by

Jul 8, 1988

Penalty

Initial $240 · Current $240

Issued

Jun 8, 1988

Abate by

Jul 8, 1988

Penalty

Initial $280 · Current $280

Issued

Jun 8, 1988

Abate by

Jun 11, 1988

Penalty

Initial $280 · Current $200 Reduced

Issued

Jun 8, 1988

Abate by

Aug 30, 1988

Issued

Jun 8, 1988

Abate by

Aug 30, 1988