OSHA Inspection: ARCELORMITTAL

Issued

Apr 8, 2011

Abate by

Jun 30, 2011

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer does not
furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment
which are free from
the recognized hazards of being struck by equipment and materials caused
by a draw gas furnace
explosion which are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical
harm to employees:
The employer does not have a written operating procedure readily available
that provides clear
instruction for the operation and maintenance of the draw gas furance.  On
or about October 18,
2010, and at times prior to, employees were required to conduct, operate,
maintain, or repair
the draw gas furnace, manufactured by Electric Furnace Company of Salem,
Ohio in 1981,
which is located in the Ball Mill Area.  This condition exposed employees
to hazards such as
but not limited to; explosion, fire, and struck by hazards. Explosion did
occur, resulting in an
employee being fatally injured.
Some feasible means of abatement may include, but are not limited to the
following:
1)  Implementation of a written procedure to include manufacturer's
recommendations for the
draw gas furnace.  Such a procedure should include elements as the
following:  a)  procedure
to start up the draw gas furnace; b)  procedure to operate the draw gas
furnace; c)  procedure
to shut down the draw gas furnace;  d)  annual review of procedures to
ensure no changes have
been implemented; e)  review of procedures when a change is implemented;
f)  Implement
management of change in the event that the procedure has changed or have
been altered; g)
Implementation of checklist such as but not limited to operational,
regular, weekly, monthly, and
periodic checklist; h)  follow and comply with the draw gas furnace
manufacturer's instruction
and recommended work practices; i)  other relevant items to comply with
are the NFPA 86,
1995, Standard for "Ovens and Furnaces", or equivalent, for the design,
installation and
operation of the furnace (reference sections 1-4 * Approvals, Plans and
Specifications, 1-4.1,
1-4.1.1, 1-4.1.2, 1-4.2; Chapter 10:  Inspection, Testing and Maintenance,
10-1, 10-1.1,10-1.2,
10-2*, 10-3, 10-4, 10-5, 10-6; Chapter 11:  Fire Protection: 11-6, 11-6.1,
11-6.2, 11-6.3;
Appendix B:  Example of Operational and Maintenance Checklist, B-1, B-2,
B-3, B-4, B-5.)
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 1903.19, within ten (10) calendar days of the
abatement date, the
employer must submit documentation describing the actions it is taking to
establish,
communicate, and implement written procedures and program to ensure that
proper operation
of the gas furnace is implemented.

Issued

Apr 8, 2011

Abate by

Jun 30, 2011

Penalty

Initial $7,000

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer does not
furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment
which are free from
the recognized hazards of being struck by falling collapsing equipment and
materials
caused by
a furnace explosion which are causing or likely to cause death or serious
physical harm to
employees:
The employer does not provide employee training for safe operation of the
draw gas furnace,
manufactured by the Electric Furnace Company (EFC), located in the Ball
Mill Area.  On or
about October 18, 2010, at time prior to, employees working in the Ball
Mill were operating,
maintaining and repairing the draw gas furnace.  This condition exposed
employees to hazards
such as but not limited to; explosion, fire and struck by hazards.
Explosion at gas furnace did
occur, resulting in an employee fatality.
Some feasible means of abatement may include, but are not limited to the
following:
1) Provide employees with proper and specific training for operating the
draw gas furnace.
This training should at a minimum include the following:  a)  Specific
training on written
procedures for draw gas furnace operations; b)  Specific training
conducted by a competent
person to operate the draw gas furance; c)  assignment of responsibility
for employees
responsible for draw gas furnace operations;  d)  Enforcement policy to
ensure that employees
operating the draw gas furnace follow proper procedures; e)  other
relevant items to comply with
are NFPA 86, 1995, Standard for "Ovens and Furnaces", or equivalent, for
the design,
installation and operation of the furnace (reference Chapter 1 General,
Section 1-5 Operator and
Maintenace Personnel Training, 1-5.1, 1-5.2, 1-5.3, 1-5.4, 1-5, 1-5.6)
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 1903.19, within ten (10) calendar days of the
abatement date, the
employer must submit documentation describing the actions it is taking to
establish,
communicate, and implement a effective training program to ensure
employees are been properly
trained on the safe operation of the draw gas furnace.

Issued

Apr 8, 2011

Abate by

Jun 30, 2011

Penalty

Initial $7,000

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer
does not
furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment
which are free from
the recognized hazards of being struck by falling equipment and materials
caused by a furnace
explosion which are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical
harm to employees:
The employer does not have a comprehensive preventive maintenance program
for the draw
furnace, manufactured by the Electric Furnace Company (EFC), which was
located in the Ball
Mill Area.  On or about October 18, 2010, and at time prior to, employees
were required to
operate, maintain and repair the draw gas furnace located in the Ball Mill
Area without utilizing
a preventive maintenance program.  This condition exposed employees to
hazards such as but
not limited to; explosion, fire, and struck by hazards.
Some feasible means of abatement may include, but are not limited to the
following:
1)  Implement a preventive maintenance program.  This program should
include at a minimum
the following (but not limited to those items):  a)  schedule and conduct
preventive maintenance
on a regular basis to ensure that the jeopardy of employee safety is as
minimul as possible and
for optimum safety performance of the furnace; b)  the following items
should be checked
pressure switch, regulator, gas solenoid, burners and burner ports, gas
valves, pilots, ultra-violet
detectors, alarm horns and safety devices, temperature contol equipment;
calibration of control
and safety thermocouples; check and clean air filters; furnace exhaust
system; b)  Follow and
comply with the draw gas furnace manufacturer's instruction and
recommended work practices;
c)  Other relevant items to comply with are the NFPA 86, 1995, Standard
for "Ovens and
Furnaces", or equivalent, for the design, installation and operation of
the furnace.  (Reference
Appendix B Example of Operational and Maintenance Checklist Sections B-1,
B-2, B-3, B-4,
B-5, B-6, B-7)
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 1903.19, within ten (10) calendar days of the
abatement date, the
employer must submit documentation describing the actions it is taking to
establish,
communicate, and implement a preventive maintenace program to ensure that
draw gas furnace
is checked and maintained.

Issued

Apr 8, 2011

Abate by

Jun 30, 2011

Penalty

Initial $7,000

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer does not
furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment
which are free from
the recognized hazards of being struck by collapsing equipment caused by a
draw gas furnace
explosion which are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical
harm to employees:
The employer does not implement a comprehensive detection method for gas
leaks, flame failure
and/or failure of safe operation condition.  On or about October 18, 2010,
and at times prior to,
employees were required to operate, maintain, and repair the draw gas
furnace
in the Ball Mill
Area where the employer had not implemented a detection method for gas
leaks or flame failure.
This condition exposed employees to hazards such as but not limited to;
explosion, fire and
struck by hazards.
Some feasible means of abatement may include, but are not limited to the
following:
1)  Implementation of a written procedure to detect gas leaks such a
program should include at
minimum but not limited to:   a)  employees training on detection of gas
leaks; b) install
monitors such as but not limited to gas detectors such as carbon monoxide;
c)  follow and
comply with the draw gas furnace manufacturer's instruction and
recommended work practices;
d)  other relevant items to comply with are the NFPA 86, 1995, Standard
for "Ovens and
Furnaces", or equivalent, for the design, installation and operation of
the furnace. (Reference:
Chapter 4 General:  Section 4.2 Fuel Gas-Fired Units, 4-2.1, 4-2.1.1*,
4-2.2,
4-2.7, Section
5-3.5 Software, Section 5-4 Safety Control Application for Fuel-Fired Heat
Systems; Chapter
10 Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance Section 10-6 Combustible/Flammable
Loading)
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 1903.19, within ten (10) calendar days of the
abatement date, the
employer must submit documentation describing the actions it is taking to
establish, commuicate,
and implement a gas detection system.

Issued

Apr 8, 2011

Abate by

Jun 30, 2011

Penalty

Initial $7,000

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 of
being struck by falling and collapsing equipment parts and materials and a
fatality cause by a
draw gas furnace explosion which are causing or likely to cause death or
serious physical harm
to employees:
On or about October 18, 2010, and at times prior to, the employer did not
ensure
that alterations
made to gas furnace controls which could affect the safe operation were
not made.  Alterations
identified during inspection included, but not limited to; installation of
wires used to hold the
pilot button down and pieces of paper used to bypass safety devices.  This
condition exposed
employees to hazards such as but not limited to; explosion, fire and
struck by hazards.
Explosion occurred, resulting in employee fatality.
Some feasbile means of abatement may include, but are not limited to the
following:
1)  Implementation of a written program to detect changes or modifications
conducted to the
equipment.  Ssuch a program should include but are not limited to:  a)
Before existing
equipment is remodeled, or new equipment is installed complete plans and
specifications shall
be submitted for approval to authority having jurisdiction; b)  the
employer shall consult with
the authority having jurisdiction concerning and modifications or changes
to
equipment; c)  other
relevant items to comply with are the NFPA 86, 1995, Standard for "Ovens
and Furnaces", or
equivalent, for the design, installation and operation of the furance.
(Reference:  Chapter 1:
General, Section 1-4* : Approvals, Plans, and Specifications. Sections
1-4.1, 1-4.1.1, 1-
4.1.2.,1-4.3).
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 1903.19, within ten (10) calendar days of the
abatement date, the
employer must submit documentation describing the actions it is taking to
establish,
communicate, and implement a program to detect changes or modifications
conducted to the
equipment and to ensure that proper procedures are implemented.

Issued

Apr 8, 2011

Abate by

Jun 30, 2011

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer does not
furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment
which are free from
the recognized hazards of being struck by falling equipment and materials
which resulted in a
fatalitity due to a furnace explosion which are causing or likely to cause
death
or serious
physical harm to employees:
The employer does not label nor identify gas pipes and or prominently
display safety designs for
the draw gas furnace, manufactured by the Electric Furnace Company (EFC),
which was located
in the Ball Mill Area.  On or about October 18, 2010, and at times prior
to, employees were
required to operate, maintain and repair the draw gas furnace where gas
pipes are not labeled
or prominently identified.  This condition exposed employees to hazards
such as, but not limited
to; explosion, fire and struck by hazards.
Some feasible means of abatement may include, but are not limited to the
following:
1)   Implement a written safety program to identify and label all parts of
the gas furance.  The
safety designs and wording should include such as but not limited to:  a)
Ensure that all gas
pipes are clearly worded and prominently display safety design data or
manufacturer's
nameplate, b)  nameplates shall be provided that contains manufacturer's
safe operating
conditions for which the furnace or oven was designed, built, or altered
for c)  Labeling all gas
lines that are in use with the draw gas furnace; d)  Marking of linages
with paint so that it is
easily identifiable; e)  follow and comply with the draw gas furnace
manufacturer's instruction
and recommended work practices; f)  other relevant items to comply with
NFPA 86, 1995,
Standard for "Ovens and Furnaces", or equivalent, for the design,
installation and operation of
the furnace.  (Reference:  Chapter 1 Section 1-7:  Safety Labeling, 1-7.1,
1-7.2, 1-7.3*)
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 1903.19, within ten (10) calendar days of the
abatement date, the
employer must submit documentation describing the actions it is taking to
establish,
communicate, and implement a marking and labeling system to identify gas
lines and furnace
safety design and placards.

Issued

Apr 8, 2011

Abate by

Jun 30, 2011

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer does not
furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment
which are free from
the recognized hazards of being struck by falling equipment and materials
caused by a draw
furnace gas explosion which are causing or likely to cause death or
serious physical harm to
employees:
The employer did not document a hazard assessment on the draw gas furnace
for employees that
operate and work with the furnace.  On or about October 18, 2010 and at
times prior to,
employees operating, maintaining and repairing the draw gas furnace were
exposed to explosion,
fire and struck by hazards due to employer failing to conduct a hazard
assessment for the furnace
operation.
Some feasible means of abatement may include, but are not limited to the
following:
1)  Implement and conduct a hazard assessment for the draw gas furnace,
such an assessment
should include items such as but not limited to: a)  assessment of the
draw gas furnace and safe
work practices; b)  assess the necessity to implement a "buddy system" for
personnel operating
the furnace; c)  assess the workplace area and surroundings for explosion
proof criteria; d)
other relevant items to comply with are the NFPA 86, 1995, Standard for
"Ovens and
Furnaces", or equivalent, for the design, installation and operation of
the furnace. (Reference
entire NFPA 86, "Standard for Ovens and Furnaces.")
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 1903.19, within ten (10) calendar days of the
abatement date, the
employer must submit documentation describing the actions it is taking to
establish,
communicate, and implement a hazard assessment to ensure that proper
ignition and operation
of the draw gas furnace is implemented.