OSHA Inspection: PACIFIC DRILLING LTD.

Issued

Sep 14, 1998

Abate by

Sep 20, 1998

Penalty

Initial $5,600 · Current $5,600

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 the hazard of being caught between an excavator and other
surfaces:
(a)At the Kagman Watershed Project, a Komatsu excavator, model number PC
60-6,
serial
number 34199, was used on soft soil prior to examining the lay of the land
and the kind
of soil at the work site, determining the dangerous points and the best
methods of
operation, and making safety arrangements about the dangerous points.  One
acceptable
and feasible means of abatement is, but is not necessarily limited to,
prior to use of the
excavator, to examine the kind of soil, to determine that the soil is
soft, and to arrange
to place thick boards on the ground to prevent the excavator from sinking.
These
abatement methods are delineated in the excavator's Operation and
Maintenance Manual's
section on Safety and Operation in item 1. on page 2 and in item 21. on
page 10.

Issued

Sep 14, 1998

Abate by

Sep 20, 1998

Penalty

Initial $5,600 · Current $5,600

Issued

Sep 14, 1998

Abate by

Oct 17, 1998

Penalty

Initial $8,000 · Current $8,000