OSHA Inspection: LUAR CLEANER INC

Issued

2009-07-10 00:00:00

Abate by

2009-08-05 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $800.00 · Current $600.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 6(a) of the Puerto Rico Occupational Safety and Health Act:  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 physical harm to employees in
that employees were
exposed to:
Seccion 6(a) de la Ley de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo de Puerto Rico:
El patrono no
proveyo empleo y un sitio de empleo libre de riesgos reconocidos que esten
causando o que
puedan causar muerte o dano fisico a los empleados, por cuanto empleados
estaban expuestos
a:
At Luar Cleaner Inc. employees were exposed to heat stress (prolonged
increase in body
temperature and chronic exposure to high levels of heat stress). Employees
working in
the laundry where the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) surpassed 89.66
degrees
Fahrenheit and the body temperature reached 38.8 degrees celcius, even
when the work
area had extractors and industrial fans. The employees activities included
working
with
both arms and standing up, and was classified as light work. The American
Conference
of Governmental Industrial Hygienists 2001 ACGHI) states that workers
should not work
when their deep body temperature exceeds 38 degrees celcius.
Hazard: Heat Stress.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to
correct this
hazard is to use engineering controls to dilute hot air with cooler air
(usually cooler air
is brought from the outside) to lower the interior WBGT below levels
indicated by the
ACGIH (2001 TLVs and BEIs of 85.1). Meanwhile use administrative controls
that allow
sufficient recovery and limit physiological strain with general controls
such as: provide
accurate written and verbal instructions, frequent training programs, and
other
information about heat stress and strain; encourage drinking small volumes
(approximately one cup) of cool water every 20 minutes, permit
self-limitation
of
exposures and encourage co-worker observation to detect signs and symptoms
of heat
strain in others, recommend and monitor those who take medication that may
compromise normal cardiovascular, blood pressure, regulation of body
temperature, renal
or sweat gland functions.
En Luar Cleaner Inc., los empleados estaban expuestos a estres por calor
(aumento
prolongado en temperatura interna del cuerpo y exposicion cronica a altos
niveles de
estr/s calorico). Empleados trabajaban en la lavanderia donde el "Wet Bulb
Globe
Temperature (WBGT)" interior dio sobre 89.66 grados fahrenheit y la
temperatura
corporal llego a 38.8 grados celcius. Aun cuando en el area de trabajo
habian extractores
y abanicos industriales. El trabajo de los empleados se califico como
ligero, trabajaban
de pie y utilizaban ambos brazos. La American Conference of Governmental
Industrial
Hygienists (2201) (ACGIH) establece que los trabajadores no deben trabajar
cuando
su
temperatura corporal profunda excede 38 grados celcius.
Riesgo: Calor extremo.
Entre otros metodos, un metodo razonable y aceptable de corregir este
riesgo es: utilizar
controles de ingenieria para diluir el aire caliente con aire mas frio
(por lo general aire
mas fresco que es traido desde el exterior) para bajar el WBGT interior
por debajo de
lo indicado por la ACGIH (2001 TLVs y BEIs de 85.1). Mientras tanto
utilizar controles
administrativos que permitan suficiente recuperacion y limite la tension
fisiologica con
controles generales tales como: proveer instrucciones escritas y verbales
precisas,
frecuentes programas de adiestramiento y cualquier otra informacion acerca
de estres
calorico y tension; fomentar el beber un volumen pequeno (aproximadamente
una taza)
de agua fria cada 20 minutos; permitir la auto limitacion de exposicion y
fomentar la
observacion de los companeros de trabajo para detectar senales y sintomas
de
tension por
calor en otros; recomendar y monitorear a aquellos que toman medicamentos
que pueda
comprometer las funciones cardiovasculares normales, la presion sanguinea,
la regulacion
de la temperatura del cuerpo, las funciones renales y de la glandula de
sudar.la

Issued

2009-07-10 00:00:00

Abate by

2009-08-05 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $600.00 · Current $300.00 Reduced

Issued

2009-07-10 00:00:00

Abate by

2009-08-05 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $600.00 · Current $300.00 Reduced

Issued

2009-07-10 00:00:00

Abate by

2009-08-05 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $500.00 · Current $250.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 6(a) of the Puerto Rico Occupational Safety and Health Act:  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 physical harm to employees in
that employees were
exposed to:
Seccion 6(a) de la Ley de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo de Puerto Rico:
El patrono no
proveyo empleo y un sitio de empleo libre de riesgos reconocidos que esten
causando o que
puedan causar muerte o dano fisico a los empleados, por cuanto empleados
estaban expuestos
a:
At Luar Cleaner Inc., the employer did not provide training to his
employees
related to
the establishment of a written protocol to handle domestic violence in the
workplace, as
required by the Act for the Implementation of a Protocol to Handle
Domestic Violence
Situations in the Workplace or Place of Employment, Act No. 217 of 2006.
Hazard: Fatalities, injuries, and illnesses related to domestic violence
in the workplace.
Method to abate the hazard: The employer shall provide training to all the
establishment's employees related to a written protocol to handle domestic
violence in
the workplace. Information is available at the Women's Advocate Office, A
Guide for
Employers: Domestic Violence in the Workplace and other references
provided during
the inspection.
En Luar Cleaner Inc., el patrono no proveyo adiestramiento a sus empleados
relacionado
al establecimiento de un protocolo escrito para manejar situaciones de
violencia domestica
en el lugar de trabajo, como lo requiere la Ley para la Implementacion del
Protocolo
para Manejar Situaciones de Violencia Domestica en el Sitio de Trabajo,
Ley Num. 217
del 2006.
Riesgo: Fatalidades, lesiones, y enfermedades relacionadas a la violencia
domestica en
el sitio de trabajo.
Metodo de corregir el riesgo: El patrono tiene que proveer adiestramiento
a todos los
empleados del establecimiento relacionado con un protocolo escrito para el
manejo de la
violencia domestica en el sitio de trabajo. Hay informacion disponible en
la Oficina de
la Procuradora de la Mujer, Una Guia para Patronos: Violencia Domestica en
el Sitio de
Trabajo, y otras referencias provistas durante la inspeccion.