OSHA Inspection: HELWIG CARBON PRODUCTS, INC.

Issued

Mar 2, 2012

Abate by

Oct 1, 2012

Penalty

Initial $4,500 · Current $3,150 Reduced

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 combustible dust deflagration, explosion, or other fire hazards of carbon black and graphite mixture 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 uncontrolled fire event:    a)  Employees were exposed to carbon black and graphite mixture dust deflagration, explosion or other fire hazards from the inside "Torit" cyclone dust collector that lacked means of:                   (1) explosion protection,                    (2) deflagration isolation protection to upstream process equipment, and                    (3) fire protection    Among other methods, a feasible method to correct this hazard would be to comply with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards 654 "Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing and Handling of Particulate Solids, 2006 Edition" - Sections 7.1.2.1, 7.1.4, 7.1.5, 7.13.1.1.1, 7.13.1.2, 7.13.1.3.1 and 7.13.1.5, and/or to comply with FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet  7-73 "Dust Collectors and Collection Systems, May 2008" - Sections 2.1.1.1, 2.1.2.2, 2.1.4.2 AND 7-76 "Prevention and Mitigation of Combustible Dust Explosions and Fire, May 2006 - Section 2.4.1.1.

Issued

Mar 2, 2012

Abate by

May 3, 2012

Penalty

Initial $6,300 · Current $4,410 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(4)(i):     Procedures were not developed, documented and utilized for the control of potentially hazardous energy when employees were engaged in activities covered by this section:    The company had not developed procedures for equipment with multiple energy sources to ensure all sources of energy were identified and secured while performing maintenance and service on the equipment such as presses and heating furnaces in the forming area or ventilation exhaust system for the plant.

Issued

Mar 2, 2012

Abate by

Mar 5, 2012

Penalty

Initial $6,300 · Current $4,410 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.212(a)(3)(ii):     Point(s) of operation of machinery were not guarded to prevent employee(s) from having any part of their body in the danger zone(s) during operating cycle(s):    a)  The "Powermatic" tablesaw #10295 was not equipped with a blade guard to prevent employee contact with the blade during cutting and forming of electric brush material.    b) The "Oliver" tablesaw #10542 was not equipped with a blade guard to prevent employee contact with the blade during cutting and forming of electric brush material.    c)  The "Powermatic" tablesaw #14284 was not equipped with a blade guard to prevent employee contact with the blade during cutting and forming of electric brush material.    d)  The "Oliver" tablesaw with no identifing number was not equipped with a blade guard to prevent employee contact with the blade during cutting and forming of electric brush material.

Issued

Mar 2, 2012

Abate by

Mar 22, 2012

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(c)(2)(i):     Respirator users were not provided with the information contained in Appendix D to 29 CFR 1910.134 when the employer determined that any voluntary respirator use was permissible:    a)  The company had not provided information or training to employees on Appendix D of the standard regarding the requirements for voluntary use of disposable dust/mist respirators.

Issued

Mar 2, 2012

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.157(c)(1):     Portable fire extinguishers were not mounted, located and identified so that they were readily accessible without subjecting the employees to injuries:    a)  The portable fire extinguisher mounted in the middle of machining shop 1 by the supervisors desk was obstructed by materials being stored to prevent use if needed for a fire.