OSHA Inspection: AMERICAN AIRLINES

Issued

Dec 18, 2003

Abate by

Dec 26, 2003

Penalty

Initial $7,000

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 maintenance
employees were exposed to the hazard of developing Legionnaires Disease
resulting from
exposure to legionella pneumophila bacterium:
American Airlines failed to provide a workplace generally recognized as
being free from the
hazard of exposure to high concentrations of Legionella bacteria in the
cooling tower water
systems (North and Hanger Six towers) at the maintenance facility located
at 3600 N. Mingo
Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Improper maintenance and operation of cooling
tower water systems
can result in the growth of high concentrations of Legionella bacteria
during normal operation
or during maintenance operations exposing workers to serious, and
life-threatening forms of
pneumonia, known as Legionnaires' Disease.
A feasible and acceptable method to correct this hazard is to ensure
employees are protected
from exposure by following industry practices and recommendations
developed to minimize the
risk of Legionnaires' Disease such as those developed by the Cooling Tower
Institute (CTI),
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers
(ASHRAE), and
the Association of Water Technologies (AWT). At a minimum, the water
treatment program
shall include the use of an oxidizing biocide at sufficient concentrations
that will prohibit the
growth of Legionella within system.  Periodic water samples collected from
the system should
be cultured to check for Legionella growth.  Regular system cleaning of
the cooling towers and
associated equipment shall be conducted to  minimize the  accumulation of
debris, and solid
materials which promote bacterial growth.  Proper maintenance of drift
eliminators on the
cooling towers shall be implemented to reduce the amount of water droplets
released from the
towers during operation.  Domestic water systems are to be maintained and
operated in
accordance with industry practice.  Personal protective equipment,
including but, not limited to
NIOSH approved N-95 respirator shall be provided to employee(s) to reduce
respiratory
exposure to water droplets and aerosols during maintenance when high
pressure water or rotating
brush equipment is used to clean water system heat exchangers.