OSHA Inspection: HARALAMBIS INDUSTRIAL PAINTING

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $500 Reduced

Hazardous substances 108025900700

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 hazards of being overcome by possible oxygen deficient
atmospheres and/or
hazardous levels of toxic and flammable paint vapors while tar coating the
interior of a
wastewater treatment tank that was classified as a permit-required
confined space:
(a) At the worksite located at 7625 Oak Shores Drive in Austin, Texas,
employees were
exposed to the hazards of asphyxiation due to possible oxygen deficiency
and/or toxic and
flammable atmospheres immediately dangerous to life and health while spray
finishing a
compartment inside a wastewater treatment tank with coal
tar-polyamide/epoxy coating on or
about January 26, 2005, resulting in an employee becoming confused and
removing his airline
respirator "to get fresh air" and subsequently losing consciousness. The
employee was wearing
a Bullard 88VX Series Airline Respirator for abrasive blasting during tar
coat spraying in lieu
of an SCBA while unknown concentrations of airborne contaminants were
present in the
confined space, including xylene, ethyl benzene, refined coal tar pitch,
polyamide resin, and
bisphenol A Type Epoxy Resin. The employee was not wearing a safety
harness and lifeline,
and a lifting device for retrieval was not provided. Rescue operations
were delayed because the
911 Dispatcher had difficulty locating the worksite, which was in a remote
area, from
information provided by the employer representative. A multiple agency
rescue ensued with local
fire department, Emergency Medical Services, HazMat, and
confined-space-trained technical
EMS personnel responding, and Starflight air-ambulance transport to a
hospital trauma center.
City of Austin Fire Department HazMat Team personnel measured only 17
oxygen in the
spraying area in the center compartment of the tank after the employee was
rescued,
approximately 1 hour after spraying operations ceased.  The employer
resumed work in the tank
approximately 2 days after the accident without taking any permit space
precautions: There were
only 2 employees on site when the inspection was initiated on January 28,
2005, one of whom
was operating abrasive blasting equipment inside the tank in preparation
for tar coating and the
other who was pouring abrasive into a hopper outside the tank. The
employees had no entry
permit, no attendant outside the space, no communication equipment or
transportation to
summon rescue services, no atmospheric testing equipment, no ventilating
equipment for the
tank, and no retrieval equipment. These hazards resulted from deficiencies
in the implementation
of the employer's permit-required confined space entry program which
included the following:
a. Failure to implement the company's confined space entry permit system;
b. Failure to provide
forced air ventilation to obtain and maintain acceptable entry conditions;
c. Failure to test the
atmosphere of the tank for oxygen deficiency, flammable gases and vapors,
and toxic air
contaminants prior to, and periodically throughout, entry operations as
necessary to ensure that
a hazardous atmosphere was not accumulating; d. Selection of inadequate
respiratory protection
for atmospheres with unknown concentrations of hazardous air contaminants
during spray
finishing operations with flammable coal tar-polyamide/epoxy coating; e.
Failure to ensure that
an attendant remained outside the permit space during entry operations; f.
Failure to maintain
communication between the entrant and the attendant; g. Failure to utilize
a chest or full-body
harness and retrieval system during the entry in order to facilitate
non-entry rescue; h. Failure
to ensure that rescue services were available in a timely manner; i.
Failure to ensure that the
means to summon rescue services were available at all times during entry;
and j. Inadequate
training provided to employees in the hazards associated with abrasive
blasting and tar coatingoperations in permit-required confined spaces such
as wastewater tanks with partitioning walls,
and the methods they can take to minimize the hazards. Among other
methods, one feasible and
acceptable abatement method to correct these hazards is to establish and
implement a confined
space program such as that specified in the American National Standards
Institute consensus
standard ANSI Z117.1-1995 "Safety Requirements for Confined Spaces" or the
OSHA general
industry standard 29 CFR1910.146 "Permit-Required Confined Spaces". Such a
program shall
include, as a minimum, the following elements: 1. Develop and utilize
effective procedures for
confined space entry including, but not limited to, using a permit system,
ventilation,
atmospheric testing, rescue procedures, employee training, and designation
of qualified people
for standby and emergency procedures; 2. The completion and posting of a
confined space entry
permit that requires authorization and approval in writing and which
specifies the location and
type of work to be done and certifies that all existing and potential
hazards have been evaluated
by a qualified person designated by the employer, and necessary protective
measures
have been
taken to assure the safety of each worker; 3. Mechanical ventilation of
the confined space prior
to entry and continued ventilation to provide a safe atmosphere when
determined necessary as
described in the entry permit (in item 1. above); 4. Testing of the
atmosphere in the confined
space prior to entry and on a regular basis for presence of sufficient
oxygen and absence of
hazardous levels of toxic or flammable gases or vapors when determined
necessary as described
in the entry permit; 5. Respiratory protection that is appropriate for the
atmosphere to which
employees are exposed when determined necessary as described in the entry
permit; 6.
Emergency rescue procedures with a requirement that trained personnel are
available with the
proper equipment to provide for the rescue of persons entering a permit
space. For vertical
lifting, such equipment must include safety harnesses and lifelines with
provisions for hoisting
employees from confined spaces. Note: Mechanical lifting devices must be
approved for human
lifting. If entry is required for rescue, the rescuing employee must be
equipped with SCBA.
And, 7. Training of personnel in confined space entry procedures that are
appropriate to the
types of confined spaces being entered.

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $500 Reduced

Hazardous substances 108025900700

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Hazardous substances 108025900700

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Hazardous substances 108025900700

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Hazardous substances 108025900700

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Hazardous substances 108025900700

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Penalty

Initial $1,400 · Current $500 Reduced

Hazardous substances 108025900700

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Hazardous substances 108025900700

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $300 Reduced

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $500 Reduced

Hazardous substances 91309135

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $500 Reduced

Issued

Jun 15, 2005

Abate by

Jun 21, 2005

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $200 Reduced