OSHA Inspection: ALPHA BORING CO., INC.

Issued

Nov 12, 2008

Abate by

Nov 26, 2008

Penalty

Initial $1,500 · Current $950 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish to each of his employees 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 an unknown atmosphere:
a) Employees were working in a permit required confined space without a
permit
required confined space  program in place. The quality of the atmosphere
inside the
confined space was not tested prior to employees entering. There was not
an attendant
to monitor the atmosphere or the employees working inside the pipe. There
was not a
common communication system available for employees to call for assistance
in case of
an emergency. There were no rescue procedures or equipment available to
remove or
retrieve the employees from the permit required space if an emergency
arose.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable method to correct this
hazard is:
To follow the American National Standard Institute (ANSI), Standard Z117.1
1995,
Requirements for Confined Spaces, including the identification of hazards
within a
confined space (required in Section 3), control or elimination of
atmospheric hazards
prior to entry into the space (required in Section 5), atmospheric testing
when
necessary (required in Section 6), retrieval equipment (required in
Section 12), and
emergency rescue provisions (required in Section 14).
ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED