OSHA Inspection: GENERAL ELECTRIC INTERNATIONAL INC.

Issued

Dec 15, 2004

Abate by

Feb 25, 2005

Penalty

Initial $5,600 · Current $5,600

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 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
possibility of a fire
or explosion of a readily ignitable mixture of zirconium dust and air that
when exposed to a
source of ignition would lead to an explosion, due to the inadequate
ventilation system.
a)facility, IPHT Department - employees operating the IPHT polisher were
exposed
to finely divided Zirconium dust particles in the air during routine
operations.
Machine was not equipped with a  hood or enclosure that was connected to a
liquid precipitation dust collection system
(Reference: NFPA 484 Standard for Combustible Metals, Metal Powders, and
Metal Dusts, 2002 edition, Chapter 9, Sections 9.4.3.1.1, 9.4.3.1.2, and
9.4.3.3.
(Reference: NFPA 482, Standard for the Production, Processing, Handling,
and
Storage of Zirconium, 1996 Edition, Chapter 5, Section 5-3.1).

Issued

Dec 15, 2004

Abate by

Feb 25, 2005

Penalty

Initial $5,600 · Current $5,600

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 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
possibility of a fire
or explosion caused by vacuum systems which were not engineered, nor
designed to reduce the
potential for static build up and discharge at the nozzle end of the hose
which could lead to a
fire, or explosion of  the finely divided Zirconium particles, when
conducting daily clean up
operations.
a)facility, IPHT Department - employees operating the IPHT polisher were
provided
with a vacuum system that was pneumatically driven. This system included a
hose
attachment that was constructed with a metal coil that was not bonded back
to the
ground conductor of the motor. This condition allowed for the static build
up and
potential discharge of static at the nozzle end of the equipment which
could ignite
the finely divided, metallic Zirconium particles.
facility, IPHT Department - employees operating the IPHT polisher
routinely used
a Milwaukee Commercial Grade wet/dry vacuum cleaner that was not engineered
(bonded and grounded hose)  to reduce the potential for static build up at
the
nozzle end of the portable vacuum cleaner.
(Reference: NFPA 484 Standard for Combustible Metals, Metal Powders, and
Metal Dusts, 2002 edition, Chapter 9, Section 9.4.3.6.3, and 9.4.3.6.2).
(Reference NFPA 482, Standard for the production, Processing, Handling and
Storage of Zirconium, 1996 Edition, Chapter 5, Section 5-3.6.2, and
Chapter 8,
Section 8-1.14)

Issued

Dec 15, 2004

Abate by

Feb 25, 2005

Penalty

Initial $5,600 · Current $5,600

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 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
possibility of a fire
or explosion caused by sludge removal that was done on an annual basis, as
opposed to daily..
a)facility, IPHT Department - employees operating the IPHT polisher were
not
removing sludge from the base of the machine on a daily basis, at a
minimum.
(Reference: NFPA 482 Standard for the Processing, Production, Handling and
Storage of Zirconium, 1996 Edition, Chapter 5, Section 5-3.7).

Issued

Dec 15, 2004

Abate by

Feb 25, 2005

Penalty

Initial $6,300 · Current $6,300

Issued

Dec 15, 2004

Abate by

Feb 25, 2005

Penalty

Initial $5,600 · Current $5,600

Issued

Dec 15, 2004

Abate by

Feb 25, 2005

Penalty

Initial $6,300 · Current $6,300