OSHA Inspection: BRITE BLAST LLC

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2400.00 · Current $2400.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.38(b):  Written and oral emergency action plans. An emergency action plan was not in writing, kept in the workplace, and available to employees for review. However, an employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate the plan orally to employees:    Brite Blast LLC did not implement an emergency action plan for its facility at 825 South Loop West, Building C, in Houston, TX.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $1600.00 · Current $1600.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.132(a): Application. Protective equipment, including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers, were not provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it was necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical irritants encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact:                    At the BriteBlast facility in Houston, TX, the employer did not ensure employees used Personal Protective Equipment when exposed to rollover hazards while operating powered industrial trucks. This violation was observed on or about July 17, 2012, when employees were allowed to operate a Daewoo Lift Truck (Forklift) Model D25S, with NES Rentals ID# N24808, without wearing the manufacturer installed seatbelts.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2400.00 · Current $2400.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1): In any workplace where respirators were necessary to protect the health of the employee or whenever respirators were required by the employer, the employer did not establish and implement a written respiratory protection program with worksite-specific procedures. The program shall be updated as necessary to reflect those changes in workplace conditions that affect respirator use:    The employer requires its employees to utilize dust masks for respiratory protection in the manufacturing areas of the BriteBlast facility at 825 South Loop West, Building C, in Houston, TX, but does not have a written respiratory protection program with site specific procedures.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(d)(1)(iii):  The employer did not identify and evaluate the respiratory hazard(s) in the workplace; this evaluation did not include a reasonable estimate of employee exposures to respiratory hazard(s) and an identification of the contaminant's chemical state and physical form. Where the employer could not identify or reasonably estimate the employee exposure, the employer did not consider the atmosphere to be IDLH:    At the BriteBlast facility located at 825 South Loop West in Houston, TX, the employer did not perform an evaluation to estimate employee exposure to respiratory hazards in the manufacturing area of Building C, prior to requiring employees to use N95 particulate purifying respirators.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2400.00 · Current $2400.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(e)(1): General. The employer did not provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator, before the employee is fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace. The employer may discontinue an employee's medical evaluations when the employee is no longer required to use a respirator:    At the BriteBlast facility located at 825 South Loop West in Houston, TX, the employer did not provide medical evaluations to employees prior to requiring them to use N95 dust filtering masks for respiratory protection.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2800.00 · Current $2800.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(1):  Energy control program. The employer did not establish a program consisting of energy control procedures, employee training and periodic inspections to ensure that before any employee performs any servicing or maintenance on a machine or equipment where the unexpected energizing, startup or release of stored energy could occur and cause injury, the machine or equipment was not isolated from the energy source and rendered inoperative:    At the BriteBlast LLC facility located at  825 South Loop West in Houston, TX, the employer did not implement an energy control program and develop machine specific LOTO procedures. This violation was observed on or about July 17, 2012, when the employer allowed a maintenance employee to perform maintenance on a dust collector that had not been isolated from its energy source and rendered inoperative.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2800.00 · Current $2800.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.178(l)(1)(ii): Prior to permitting an employee to operate a powered industrial truck (except for training purposes), the employer did not ensure that each operator had successfully completed the training required by this paragraph (l), except as permitted by paragraph (l)(5):      At the BriteBlast facility located at 825 South Loop West in in Houston, TX, employees were allowed to operate powered industrial trucks prior to receiving training, This violation was observed on or about July 17, 2012, when the employer required employees to operate a forklift to move materials around the manufacturing facility without ensuring that they had been trained.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $1600.00 · Current $1600.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.179(m)(1):  Running ropes. A thorough inspection of all ropes was not made at least once a month and a certification record which includes the date of inspection, the signature of the person who performed the inspection and an identifier for the ropes which were inspected were not kept on file where readily available to appointed personnel. Any deterioration, resulting in appreciable loss of original strength, was not carefully observed and determination made as to whether further use of the rope would constitute a safety hazard:       The employer at the BriteBlast LLC manufacturing facility at 825 South Loop West, Building C in Houston, TX, did not perform required inspections of the ropes on the overhead crane and keep records of the inspections, although the crane was being utilized by workers at the facility to lift loaded containers of material in the process area.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2400.00 · Current $2400.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1): Types of guarding. 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. Examples of guarding methods are-barrier guards, two-hand tripping devices,electronic safety devices, etc:    The employer (BriteBlast) did not protect employees from hazards created by conveyor systems when:    a) Ingoing nip points created by conveyor belts in the bottle crushing system were not guarded to protect employees against being caught in the machine.    b) Ingoing nip points created by conveyor belts in the sifting process were not guarded to protect employees against being caught in the machine.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.219(c)(2)(i): All exposed parts of horizontal shafting seven (7) feet or less from floor or working platform, excepting runways used exclusively for oiling, or running adjustments, were not protected by a stationary casing enclosing shafting completely or by a trough enclosing sides and top or sides and bottom of shafting as location requires:      The employer (BriteBlast) did not protect employees from horizontal shafts when:    a) Shafts on the conveyors in the bottle crushing system were not enclosed in stationary casing to protect employees from struck against or entanglement incidents and injuries.    b) Shafts on the conveyors in the glass sifting process were not enclosed in stationary casing to protect employees from struck against or entanglement incidents and injuries.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2800.00 · Current $2800.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(ii):  Fire extinguishers. Suitable fire extinguishing equipment were not maintained in a state of readiness for instant use. Such equipment may consist of pails of water, buckets of sand, hose or portable extinguishers depending upon the nature and quantity of the combustible material exposed:    The employer at the BriteBlast facility did not ensure that fire extinguishing equipment was available and ready for instant use when welding activities are conducted in the warehouse areas of the facility at 825 South Loop West, Building C in Houston, TX.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(iii)(B):  Fire watchers did not have fire extinguishing equipment readily available and were not trained in its use. They were not familiar with facilities for sounding an alarm in the event of a fire. They did not watch for fires in all exposed areas, try to extinguish them only when obviously within the capacity of the equipment available, or otherwise sound the alarm. A fire watch was not maintained for at least a half hour after completion of welding or cutting operations to detect and extinguish possible smoldering fires:      BriteBlast did not ensure that fire watchers have fire extinguishing equipment readily available when welding occurs in the warehouse area of the BriteBlast facility at 825 South Loop West, Building C in Houston, TX.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.157(c)(4): The employer did not assure that portable fire extinguishers are maintained in a fully charged and operable condition and kept in their designated places at all times except during use:    Portable fire extinguishers were not kept in their designated places at the BriteBlast LLC facility in Houston, TX.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.157(c)(1): The employer did not provide portable fire extinguishers and shall mount, locate and identify them so that they are readily accessible to employees without subjecting the employees to possible injury:    On or about July 17, 2012, at the BriteBlast facility located at 825 South Loop West, Building C in Houston, TX, the employer did not provide portable fire extinguishers and locate them in locations where they were readily accessible to employees.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2800.00 · Current $2800.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.253(b)(4)(i): Oxygen cylinders were stored near highly combustible material, especially oil and grease; or near reserve stocks of carbide and acetylene or other fuel-gas cylinders, or near any other substance likely to cause or accelerate fire; or in an acetylene generator compartment:    At the BriteBlast LLC facility, located at 825 South Loop West, Building C, in Houston, TX, the employer allowed oxygen and acetylene cylinders to be stored together in a location where forklift traffic occurs and the possibility of them being bumped, knocked over, and damaged is increased.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.253(b)(2)(iv):  Valve protection caps, where the cylinder is designed to accept a cap, shall always be in place, hand-tight, except when cylinders are in use or connected for use:    BriteBlast stored a cylinder of acetylene that was not in use or connected for use in the warehouse/production area on the east side of its building, in front of a bay door that is used to move materials into and out of the building and did not ensure that the valve protection cap was installed to prevent damage to the valve and possible leakage.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2800.00 · Current $2800.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.303(b)(7)(i):  Unused openings in boxes, raceways, auxiliary gutters, cabinets, equipment cases, or housings were not effectively closed to afford protection substantially equivalent to the wall of the equipment:    This violation occurred when:     a) The employer used a piece of plexiglass to cover/close a breaker cabinet in the production area of the BriteBlast LLC facility, and did not ensure the protection provided is equivalent to that which the metal cover designed for installation on the cabinet would provide.    b) The employer left covers off outlet boxes in the production area of the BriteBlast LLC facility, leaving wires and other electrical components exposed and did not lock the box to prevent the outlet boxes from being energized.    c) The employer allowed an electrical box in the production area of the BriteBlast LLC facility that had been struck by a piece of equipment, creating gaps and openings in the box to remain energized and in service and did not lock out the box to prevent employee injuries that could occur if inadvertent contact made with live electrical components inside the box.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2400.00 · Current $2400.00

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, and which also includes the following:      BriteBlast LLC did not implement a written hazard communication program at its manufacturing facility at 825 South Loop West, Building C in Houston, TX.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2400.00 · Current $2400.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(2)(ii):  The methods the employer will use to inform the other employer(s) of any precautionary measures that need to be taken to protect employees during the workplace's normal operating conditions and in foreseeable emergencies:    BriteBlast LLC does not address how it will inform other employers on the worksite at 825 South Loop West, Building C in Houston, TX of the hazardous materials onsite and precautionary measures to protect their employees who are onsite.

Issued

2012-12-20 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-01-10 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2400.00 · Current $2400.00

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 are readily accessible during each work shift to employees when they are in their work area(s). (Electronic access, microfiche, and other alternatives to maintaining paper copies of the material safety data sheets are permitted as long as no barriers to immediate employee access in each workplace are created by such options.):    BriteBlast LLC did not make copies of material safety data sheets for hazardous materials at the facility on South Loop West, in Houston, TX, available to employees when it failed to maintain MSDSs for:    a) Aluminum oxide blasting media  b) Almandine Granite  c) Cast steel abrasives  d) Unidentified material delivered by truck to site on November 7, 2012