OSHA Inspection: KOPPERS INC.

Issued

Sep 29, 2011

Abate by

Oct 5, 2011

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

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 that
were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to
employees in that employees
were exposed to the hazards of tripping and being struck by vehicular
traffic:
On or about 04/11/11,  the employer did not ensure that the railyard was
adequately lighted.
High mast lighting installed for the railyard was not working and Moon
light would be less then
0.01 candle power (ref. 1). Industrial trucks and pedestrians are
traveling in the area.
Feasible abatement methods, among others, to correct this hazard are, but
are not limited to:
a)  Ensure a regular scheduled system of maintenance for luminaries
providing at least 1 foot
candle (ref. 2) of light in the yard area.
b)  Provide highly visible vests for night shift workers. (ref. 3)
Ref: (1)  IES Lighting Handbook, fifth edition, 1972 page 2-6, Generation
of light, Natural
Phenomena, Moonlight.(2)  ANSI A11.1-1973, 06/06/73, figure A2-2
Recommended
Illuminance Values for Industrial Areas/Activities-Outdoor, Railroad
yards, Body of yard. (3)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 23 CFR PART 634 of the Worker
Visibility rule
which states:  "All workers within the right of way of the Federal-aid
highway who are exposed
either on traffic (vehicles using the highway for purposes of travel) or
to construction equipment
within the work area shall wear high-visibility safety apparel".
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 1903.19, within ten (10) calendar days of the date
of this citation, the
employer must submit documentation showing that it is in compliance with
the standard,
including describing the steps that it is taking to ensure that railroad
yard lighting is meets
industry standards.

Issued

Sep 29, 2011

Abate by

Oct 5, 2011

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

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 that
were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to
employees in that employees
were exposed to the hazards of of being struck-by equipment and/or wire
rope:
The car pullers used to move railroad cars at the site had defective wire
rope.  This condition
exposed employees to the hazards of being struck by equipment and wire
ropes.  Among other
methods, feasible and useful method of abatement would be to remove from
service any wire
ropes with deterioration, resulting in appreciable loss of original
strength, such as described
below:
1. Severe kinking, crushing, cutting or un-stranding.
2. Reduction of rope diameter below nominal diameter due to corrosion,
wear or overloading.
3. The number of broken outside wire and the distribution of concentration
of such broken
wires.
4. Sections of rope which are normally hidden during inspection or
maintenance procedures,
such as parts passing over sheaves, or wound or drum, should be given
close inspection as those
are points most likely to fail.
5. Corroded or broken wires at end connections.
6. Corroded, cracked, bent, worn or improperly applied end connections.
Pursuant to 29 CFR 1903.19, within ten (10) calendar days of the date of
this citation, the
employer must submit documentation showing that it is in compliance with
the standard,
including describing the steps that it is taking to ensure that the wire
rope was in safe working
condition.

Issued

Sep 29, 2011

Abate by

Oct 4, 2011

Penalty

Initial $3,000 · Current $3,000

Issued

Sep 29, 2011

Abate by

Oct 5, 2011

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $3,000 Reduced

Issued

Sep 29, 2011

Abate by

Oct 5, 2011

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $5,000

Issued

Sep 29, 2011

Abate by

Oct 5, 2011

Penalty

Initial $15,000 · Current $5,000 Reduced

Issued

Sep 29, 2011

Abate by

Oct 5, 2011

Penalty

Initial $25,000 · Current $10,000 Reduced