OSHA Inspection: BRENTWOOD INDUSTRIES, INCORPORATED

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $2,125 · Current $2,125

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 severe burn injuries from a potential dust
explosion hazard that
could have resulted from, or been exacerbated by, the location of a gas
fired heater in a
Class II, Division 1 area.
(a)Silo Building - The gas fired heater located on the east wall of the
building
was not located in a separate dust free room or building, nor was the air
for
combustion taken from a clean outside source. Also, the comfort heating for
the silo building was not by an indirect means.
"AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT
METHOD TO CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO LOCATE THE GAS HEATER
OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING AND TRANSFER THE HEAT TO THE BUILDING
THROUGH A DUCT WORK SYSTEM."

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

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 severe burn injuries from a dust explosion
hazard that could have
resulted from, or been exacerbated by, the propagation of fire through an
unrestricted
conveying system and other pieces of equipment in the building.
(a) Silo Building - The duct work connecting the silos and mixers and the
main
building did not have any chokes or other isolation devices to prevent the
spread of flames to other pieces of equipment.
(b)Day Bin Room - The duct work connecting the day bins did not have any
chokes or other isolation devices to prevent the spread of flames to other
pieces of equipment.
"AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT
METHOD TO CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO INSTALL CHOKES  OR OTHER
ISOLATION DEVICES IN THE DUCT WORK OF THE CONVEYING SYSTEM."G

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

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 severe burn injuries from a
dust explosion hazard that could have resulted from, or been exacerbated
by, the propagation of a fire and
explosion in the dust collectors and the east and west bucket elevators
that were located inside of the building
structure.
(a)Silo Building - There was a dust collector located at the FCW number 1
conveyor system
which was located inside the silo building.
(b)Day Bin Room - There was a large dust collector system located in the
Day Bin Room that
collected dust from the day bins and the mixing room at the dumpers.
(c)Silo Building - The east and west bucket elevators had their
deflagration venting into the main
building instead of exiting to the outside.
"AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO RELOCATE THE DUST COLLECTION SYSTEMS AND BUCKET
ELEVATOR DEFLAGRATION VENTING TO THE OUTSIDE AREAS."

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

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 severe burn injuries from a
dust explosion hazard that could have resulted from, or been exacerbated
by, the accumulation of explosive
dust on the corrugated, galvanized metal inside the silos.
(a)Silo Building - The six (6) silos, three (3) on the north side and
three (3) on the south side,
were constructed of corrugated, 16 gage, galvanized steel, both inside and
outside.
The inside
contained ledges on the corrugated steel that the dust clung to and
created a potential explosive
environment.
"AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO RECONSTRUCT THE SILOS SO THAT THE INSIDE
CONTAINS A
SMOOTH SURFACE."

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Feb 28, 2001

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

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 severe burn injuries from a
dust explosion hazard that could have resulted from, or been exacerbated
by, penetrations (openings) that were
not dust tight where structural assemblies had a fire endurance rating.
(a)Day Bin Room, East Wall - The penetrations through the wall by the
screw conveyors did not
have the openings around the conveyors sealed dust tight, nor did they
maintain the fire rating
of the structure.
"AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO MAINTAIN THE SAME RATING AS THE STRUCTURE AND
SEAL
THE OPENINGS SO THAT THEY ARE DUST TIGHT."
VERIFICATION REQUIREDTION

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

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 severe burn injuries from a
potential dust explosion hazard that could have resulted from, or been
exacerbated by, the lack of fire doors
on the east and west sides of the Day Bin Room.
(a)Day Bin Room - There were no fire doors in place on the east side of
the room as it opened in
to the main production area.  The east side had a partition constructed of
wood with a wooden
door attached. The doors on the west side had been removed.
"AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO INSTALL FIRE DOORS AT ALL OPENINGS TO ANOTHER
ROOM."

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Jan 31, 2001

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

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 severe burn injuries from a
potential dust explosion hazard and were not given specific training
regarding the hazards associated with dust
explosions and the need to maintain a  Class II Division 1 location.
(a)Silo Building - Employees were not informed of the dangers associated
with the combustible
and explosive dust that was being handled and leaked from the conveying
system on to the
floor and the superstructure of the building.
"AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO PROPERLY TRAIN EMPLOYEES REGARDING THE SAFETY
HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR WORK ENVIRONMENT."
VERIFICATION REQUIREDTION

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $2,000

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $2,000

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $2,000

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $23,125 · Current $23,125

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 severe burn injuries from a
potential dust explosion hazard that could have resulted from, or been
exacerbated by, employees improperly
sweeping the explosive dust from the floor area and blowing down the dust
from the rafters in the silo
building.
(a)Silo Building - The floor area of the silo building and the rafters and
ledges of the building
were being  cleaned by dry sweeping of the dust. The rafters were also
blown down
approximately every six (6) months with 90 psi air pressure. There was
approximately one (1)
to two (2) inches of combustible dust on the floor and four (4) to six (6)
inches of dust
accumulation on the superstructure of the building.  The requirements of
NFPA 654 were not
followed in that the area and equipment was not vacuumed prior to
blowdown, the electrical
power and other sources of ignition were not shut down or removed from the
area,
it was not
ensured that only low pressure (15 psi) steam or compressed air was used
for cleaning and hot
surfaces capable of igniting a dust cloud or layer existed.
"AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO CLEAN THE SILO BUILDING  IN ACCORDANCE WITH NFPA
654
SECTION 4-2 HOUSEKEEPING REQUIREMENTS."

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $23,125 · Current $23,125

Issued

Dec 11, 2000

Abate by

Dec 14, 2000

Penalty

Initial $23,125 · Current $23,125

Issued

Dec 1, 2000

Abate by

Dec 6, 2000

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

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 severe burn injuries from a
dust explosion hazard that could have resulted from, or been exacerbated
by, the failure to properly align
screw conveyors, thereby creating wear areas and potentially producing
heat necessary for the propagation of a
fire and explosion.
(a)Silo Building - Conveyors SCN number 9 and RC number 13 both showed
signs of extreme
wear on the interior of the metal troughs from the metal screw conveyors.
This friction
generated sufficient heat in the metal trough to ignite the material
inside.
(b)Day Bin Room - Conveyor number BC - 15 showed signs of wear on the
interior of the metal
trough from the metal screw conveyor. This friction generated sufficient
heat
to ignite the
material being transferred in the conveyor system.
"AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALIGNMENT OF THE SCREW CONVEYOR
SO
THAT NO RUBBING AND FRICTION OCCURS."