OSHA Inspection: TENDER LOVING CARE INDUSTRIES, INC.

Issued

Jan 27, 2012

Abate by

Sep 26, 2012

Penalty

Initial $3,000 · Current $2,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1):     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 combustible wood dust deflagration, explosion, or other fire hazards while working at or near dust collectors and associated upstream equipment which were not adequately designed to prevent or minimize employee exposure in the event of a deflagration or other fire event:    a) Tender Loving Care Industries, Inc. dba TLC Industries: On or about August 25, 2011, employees were exposed to hazards from a combination cyclone and enclosureless bag dust collection system located inside the building and connected to the CMS PF1Router. The cyclone dust collector lacked means of (1) explosion protection, (2) deflagration isolation protection to upstream process equipment, and (3) fire protection, and (4) bonding between the equipment and the dust collector as the ducting was non-metallic. The enclosureless bag dust collector was located within 20 feet of means of egress and areas routinely occupied by personnel.     b) Tender Loving Care Industries, Inc. dba TLC Industries: On or about August 25, 2011, employees were exposed to hazards from an enclosureless bag dust collection system located inside the building and connected to the Weeke OPTIMAT BP140 Drill which (1) was located within 20 feet of means of egress and areas routinely occupied by personnel and (2) lacked bonding between the equipment and the dust collector as the ducting was non-metallic.    c) Tender Loving Care Industries, Inc. dba TLC Industries: On or about August 25, 2011, employees were exposed to hazards from a combination cyclone and enclosureless bag dust collection system located inside the building and connected to the Schelling Panel Saw. The cyclone dust collector lacked means of (1) explosion protection, (2) deflagration isolation to upstream process equipment, (3) fire protection, and (4) bonding between the equipment and the dust collector as the ducting was non-metallic. The enclosureless bag dust collector was located within 20 feet of means of egress, within areas routinely occupied by personnel, and within 20 feet of other enclosureless bag dust collectors.      d) Tender Loving Care Industries, Inc. dba TLC Industries: On or about August 25, 2011, employees were exposed to hazards from an enclosureless bag  dust collection system located inside the building and connected to the Shoda, NC-516-EJ Router which was  (1) located within 20 feet of means of egress, within areas routinely occupied by personnel, and within 20 feet of other enclosureless bag dust collectors, and (2) lacked bonding between the equipment and the dust collector as the ducting was non-metallic.    e) Tender Loving Care Industries, Inc. dba TLC Industries: On or about August 25, 2011, employees were exposed to hazards from a Grizzly F0441 combination cyclone and enclosureless bag dust collection system located inside the building and connected to the S112 SCMI Panel Saw and Sawstop Table Saw. The cyclone dust collector lacked means of (1) explosion protection, (2) deflagration isolation to upstream process equipment,  (3) fire protection, and (4) bonding between the equipment and the dust collector as the ducting was non-metallic. The enclosureless bag dust collector was located within 20 feet of means of egress and areas routinely occupied by personnel.     Among other methods, a feasible method to correct this hazard would be to comply with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 664 "Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities, 2007 Edition", Chapter 7, Sections 7.9 & 7.12 & Chapter 8, Sections 8.2.2.2, 8.2.2.5.1.4 & 8.2.4; FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 7-73 "Dust Collectors and Collection Systems, May 2010", Chapter 2  Section 2; and, FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 7-76 "Prevention and Mitigation of Combustible Dust Explosions and Fire, May 2006", Chapter 2  Section 5.    Methods of control under these circumstances include, but are not limited to:    1) Seek the expertise of a competent individual such as an engineer or a certified industrial hygienist to assess the existing controls.    Step 1- A written detailed plan of abatement shall be submitted to the Area Director outlining a schedule for the implementation of measures to control employees' exposures to dust deflagration, explosion, or other fire hazards, as referenced in this citation. The plan shall include, at a minimum, target dates for the following actions which must be consistent with the dates required for this citation:    	Evaluation of control options;  	Selection of optimum control methods and completion of design;  	Procurement, installation and operation of selected control measures;  	Testing and acceptance of control methods: All control methods shall be evaluated for each particular use by a technically qualified person.    Abatement Date: 03/12/12    Step 2 - Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation of feasible controls and verification of their effectiveness in achieving compliance.    A thirty (30) day progress report is required during the abatement period. Due Date: 04/24/12    Abatement Date: 06/06/12