OSHA Inspection: WALWORTH TN HWY

Issued

Mar 9, 2010

Abate by

Mar 12, 2010

General-duty citation text

NYSLL Article 2, Section 27-a.3.a(1):  The employer did not furnish to
each of its employees,
employment and a place of employment which was free from recognized
hazards that are causing
or were likely to cause death or serious physical harm to its employees
and which will provide
reasonable and adequate protection to the lives, safety or health of its
employees.  In applying
this paragraph, fundamental distinctions between private and public
employment have been
recognized.
a)The employer failed to keep the workplace free of a hazard to which
employees of that
employer were exposed.  Steel I-beam uprights of a snowplow salt/sand
loading station
had a significant amount of rust holes.   The holes were located on the
webs of three of
the four uprights. The largest hole measured approximately one-foot by
six-inches.
Employees use the structure by backing a snow plow under the structure
while a bucket
loader places a load of salt/sand mix from the adjacent salt barn onto the
screen
where
the mixture breaks up and falls into the truck bed.  The bucket loader has
to occasionally
push the frozen mixture through the screen, resulting in additional
loading onto the
structure. The loading station structure is 18-feet in length.  Snow plows
measure 20-feet
from the salt spreader to the cab therefore the driver is approximately
two-feet away
from the structure as it is being loaded.
The hazard was recognized.  The employer stated that the four horizontal
I-beams that
support the screen also had significant rust holes so metal plate was
welded along the
length of each I-beam to strengthen the structure.
The hazard was likely to cause death or serious physical injury such as
contusions,
fractures, crushing injuries, or death if a support beam failed and the
structure collapsed
onto the cab of a truck.
Reasonable and adequate methods to correct the hazard may include but are
not limited
to:
Welding heavy steel plate onto the web of the uprights.  The steel plate
would reinforce
the beams enough to compensate for the weakening of the beams due to rust
holes.
Purchase of a new salt screen structure.  The Walworth Town Highway
Department
applied for a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
grant on
October 16, 2009.  The Water Quality Improvement Project Program grant
money would
enable the Highway Department to build a new larger salt storage facility
that would also
house a new screen structure.  The Highway Department has not yet received
the results
of the application.
On December 28, 2009 the inspector verified that one-half inch thick by
11-foot long
steel plates were welded onto the steel uprights.  The inspector concluded
that the
uprights were adequately reinforced before the end of the closing
conference.

Issued

Mar 9, 2010

Abate by

Mar 12, 2010

Issued

Mar 9, 2010

Abate by

Mar 12, 2010

Issued

Mar 9, 2010

Abate by

Mar 12, 2010

Issued

Mar 9, 2010

Abate by

Mar 12, 2010

Issued

Mar 9, 2010

Abate by

Mar 12, 2010