OSHA Inspection: WEST SALEM PLANING AND MOLDING, INC.

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Jun 3, 2013

Penalty

Initial $2,000 · Current $700 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 in that employees were exposed to combustible wood dust explosion, deflagration, or other fire hazards while working at or near the dust collection system that was not adequately designed to prevent or minimize employee exposure in the event of a deflagration or other uncontrolled fire event:   a) On or about June 22, 2012, employees were exposed to combustible wood dust deflagration, explosion, or other fire hazards as the Donaldson Torit model MIC 770 dust collector:    (1) lacked a means of explosion protection;    (2) lacked means of providing deflagration (flame front) isolation between the dust    collector and [a] the facility via the upstream intake ducting connection, [b] the facility via the downstream return air ducting connection, and [c)] the dust collection drum;     (3) lacked a means to prevent the transmission of energy from a fire event (embers, smoke, etc.) back through the downstream return air ducting; and    (4) was fed by upstream ducting constructed from ungrounded, unbounded, nonconductive, PVC materials.    Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable means of abatement would be to comply with the guidelines outlined in the National Fire Protection Associations (NFPA) standard 664 Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities (2007 ed.) Sections 8.2.2.5.3, 8.2.2.6, 8.2.2.6.4, 8.2.4.1, 8.2.2.2.1.1, 8.2.2.2.1.2, and 8.2.2.2.1.8 by (1) providing the outdoor dust collector with a method of explosion protection such as, but not limited to, deflagration relief vents toward a safe location, chemical deflagration suppression system, or construction of a sufficient strength to withstand the maximum unvented deflagration pressure of the material being conveyed, (2) providing listed methods of isolation protection for dust collector connections such as, but not limited to, chemical flame front extinguishers, backblast dampers, fast acting slide gates, fast acting abort gates, flame-front diverters, or rotary air locks, (3) providing a spark detection and extinguishment system to capture and extinguish sparks upstream of the dust collector or by providing fire energy transmission protection such as, but not limited to, a spark detector and abort gate system to detect spark/and or fire events upstream or within the dust collector and provide an aborted path away from the occupied facility and outdoor areas where employees are likely to be present, and (4) ensuring all ducting systems are constructed of conductive metal materials, are bonded and grounded to dissipate static electrical charges, and include flexible ducting at minimum length as necessary to not exceed the minimum required for final machine connections.

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Dec 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $2,800 · Current $1,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1):  One or more methods of machine guarding was not provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips and sparks:    On or about 6/22/12, machine guarding was not installed to protect machine operators from rotating parts and pinch points:    a) The saw blade was not guarded on the Powermatic Table Saw (Serial #01120663051)    b) The pinch point created by the hold down cylinder was not guarded on the Delta Horizontal Boring Machine (Serial #RL00548).

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Nov 29, 2012

Penalty

Initial $1,600 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.219(d)(1):  Pulleys, any parts of which were seven (7) feet or less from the floor or working platform, were not guarded in accordance with the standards specified in paragraphs (m) and (o) of this section:    On or about 6/22/12, the drive pulleys for the feed mechanism and drive shaft were not guarded on the Woodmaster Molder (Serial #W11316) in Shop 2.

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Nov 29, 2012

Penalty

Initial $1,600 · Current $850 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.303(b)(2):  Listed or labeled equipment was not installed and used in accordance with any instructions included in the listing or labeling:    On or about 6/22/12, flexible metal conduit (FMC) used to supply electrical power to the overhead fluorescent light in the finishing area of Shop 1 was not installed in accordance with listing and labeling instructions in that it was spliced to a flexible cord using wire nuts.

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Nov 27, 2012

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.305(g)(2)(ii):  Flexible cords were not used in continuous lengths without splice or tap:    On or about 6/22/12, flexible cord was spliced with flexible metal conduit (FMC) to supply electrical power to the overhead fluorescent light in the finishing area in Shop 1.

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Nov 29, 2012

Penalty

Initial $2,400 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.305(g)(2)(iii):  Flexible cords and cables were not connected to devices and fittings so that strain relief was provided that would prevent pull from being directly transmitted to joints or terminal screws:    On or about 6/22/12, the flexible cord on the Delta Horizontal Boring machine (Serial #W11316) was not installed in such a way so that strin relief was provided where the flexible electric cord entered the housing of this device.

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Dec 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $1,200 · Current $450 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(1):  Employers did not develop, implement, and maintain at each workplace, a written hazard communication program which at least describes how the criteria specified in paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) of this section for labels and other forms of warning, material safety data sheets, and employee information and training will be met:    On or about June 22, 2012, the employer had not developed, implemented, and/or maintained a written hazard communicataion program for hazardous chemicals such as, but not limited to, solvent-based wood finishes and respirable wood dust.

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Dec 11, 2012

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(8):  The employer did not maintain in the workplace copies of the required material safety data sheets for each hazardous chemical, and did not ensure that they were readily accessible during each work shift to employees when they are in their work area(s).    On or about June 22, 2012, the employer was not maintaining copies of material safety data sheets (MSDS) for hazardous chemicals in use at the workplace such as, but not limited to, solvent-based wood finishes and wood dust.

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Dec 11, 2012

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1200(h)(1):  Employers shall provide employees with effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment, and whenever a new physical or health hazard the employees have not previously been trained about is introduced into their work area. Information and training may be designed to cover categories of hazards (e.g., flammability, carcinogenicity) or specific chemicals. Chemical-specific information must always be available through labels and material safety data sheets:    On or about June 22, 2012, employee(s) had not received training on hazardous chemicals used at the employer's facility.  The list of hazardous chemicals includes, but is not limited to, solvent-based wood finishes and respirable wood dusts.

Issued

Nov 14, 2012

Abate by

Dec 11, 2012

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1): The employer did not assess the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or are likely to be present, which necessitate the use of personal protective equipment (PPE):    On or about June 22, 2012, the employer had not performed a workplace hazard assessment for personal protective equipment (PPE).