OSHA Inspection: HORSEHEAD CORPORATION

Issued

Feb 9, 2012

Abate by

Nov 25, 2013

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 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 burners at
the worksite are not equipped with flame detection or supervision, and
there are no processes
or equipment used to ensure that the burners are automatically shut-off if
temperatures inside
the columns drop below 1400 degrees Fahrenheit, creating the potential for
temperatures to drop
below the auto-ignition level, for carbon monoxide or natural gas to
accumulate and for an
explosion to occur if the carbon monoxide or natural gas is ignited:
(a) Facility, Zinc Refinery Building:  In the distillation columns, the
burners, which serve as
heat sources by firing either carbon monoxide or natural gas, are operated
without flame
detection or supervision, and there are no processes or equipment used to
ensure
that the burners
are automatically shut-off if temperatures inside the columns drop below
1400 degrees
Fahrenheit.  These conditions create the potential for carbon monoxide or
natural gas to
accumulate and for an explosion to occur if the carbon monoxide or natural
gas is ignited.
(b) Facility, Zinc Refinery Building:  Burners installed on holding pots,
where liquid metals are
held before further processing occurs, are operated without flame
detection or supervision, and
there are no processes or equipment used to ensure that the burners are
automatically shut-off
if temperatures inside the columns drop below 1400 Fahrenheit. These
conditions create the
potential for carbon monoxide or natural gas to accumulate in the holding
pots and for an
explosion to occur if the carbon monoxide or natural gas is ignited.
(c) Facility, Zinc Refinery Building:  Burners installed on troughs, which
convey liquid metal
between columns and holding pots and related equipment, are operated
without
flame detection
or supervision, creating the potential for flammable gas or fuel to
accumulate and be ignited near
its source, causing a fire and/or explosion.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable means of abatement for
the burners in the
distillation columns is to implement a system by which the burners without
flame supervision
would be "interlocked to prevent their operation when the zone temperature
is less than 1400
degrees Fahrenheit (760 degrees Celsius) bypass interlock" (NFPA 86,
"Standard for Ovens and
Furnaces," Section 8.10.1(3)), including compliance with all of the
specific criteria set forth in
NFPA 86 with regard to the use of burner interlocks in situations where no
method of flame
detection or supervision is used.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable means of abatement for
the burners on the
holding pots and the burners on the troughs is to comply with the flame
detection
and flame
supervision requirements of NFPA 86.