OSHA Inspection: THE L.S.STARRETT COMPANY

Issued

Dec 15, 2004

Abate by

Dec 20, 2004

Penalty

Initial $1,225 · Current $1,100 Reduced

General-duty citation text

North Carolina General Statute 95-129(1) of the Occupational Safety and
Health Act of North
Carolina:  The employer did not furnish to each of his employees
conditions of 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
fire/explosion:
a)saw division - the employer failed to properly operate and maintain the
#3
Guyson Bandsaw Blade Descaler model #BF/100, serial #4607,/Guyson Dust
Collector, serial #D31097, by allowing sawblades coated with LOGRIND 600
grinding oil to be processed; did not properly adjust the blast gate
control which
allowed fine particles to enter the dust collector; had not periodically
inspected/cleaned the dust collector; these conditions contributed to the
fire/explosion on June 22, 2004.
Feasible and acceptable abatement method(s) to correct this hazard would
include
ensuring that employees follow appropriate procedures, such as removing
oil
from
any saw blades processed in the Descaler and following the instructions
outlined
in the Operating and Maintenance Manual for the BF 100 Continuous Bandsaw
Blade Descaler (page 2-3) "ATTENTION  DO NOT introduce work pieces with
oil, grease, water or other types of liquid, bituminous, paste compounds
which
could mix with the blasting media compromise normal machine performance.
DO NOT introduce material into the machine which when subjected to blasting
could release gas or self inflammable elements."  Also follow the
requirements
in the SET UP AND OPERATION section of the Guyson Dust Collector Manual
which states "Inspect contents of dust barrel. If the system is set
properly,
approximately 5good media should be found in the barrel."ately