OSHA Inspection: NEWARK REFRIGERATED WAREHOUSE

Issued

May 23, 2013

Abate by

May 23, 2013

Penalty

Initial $4,900 · Current $3,000 Reduced

Hazardous substances 9010

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1) as referenced by 29 CFR 1926.103: A written respiratory protection program that included the provisions in 29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1)(i) - (ix) with worksite specific procedures was not established and implemented for required respirator use:    (a) Old warehouse, new cooling system construction project    A written respiratory protection program was not established and implemented for maintenance employees required to wear half face air purifying respirators while cutting, jackhammering and cleaning up concrete during floor hole construction.  Personal monitoring on 4/19/13 indicated employees jackhammering and cutting were overexposed to crystalline silica. Eight hour Time Weighted Average exposures were 10.3 million particles per cubic foot (mppcf) for jackhammering, 1.5 times the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 6.94 mppcf and 11.3 mppcf for cutting, 1.1 times the PEL of 10.4 mppcf.  Zero exposure was assumed for unsampled periods of 38 and 7 minutes, respectively.      Violation occurred on or about 4/19/13.

Issued

May 23, 2013

Abate by

May 23, 2013

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9010

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(e)(1) as referenced by 29 CFR 1926.103: The employer did not provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator, before the employee was fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace:  (a) Old warehouse, new cooling system construction project  The employer did not provide a medical evaluation to maintenance employees required to wear half face air purifying respirators while cutting, jackhammering and cleaning up concrete during floor hole construction.  Personal monitoring on 4/19/13 indicated employees jackhammering and cutting were overexposed to crystalline silica.  Eight hour Time Weighted Average exposures were 10.3 million particles per cubic foot (mppcf) for jackhammering, 1.5 times the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 6.94 mppcf and 11.3 mppcf for cutting, 1.1 times the PEL of 10.4 mppcf.  Zero exposure was assumed for unsampled periods of 38 and 7 minutes, respectively.  Violation occurred on or about 4/19/13.

Issued

May 23, 2013

Abate by

May 23, 2013

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9010

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(f)(2): Employee(s) using tight-fitting facepiece respirators were not fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator:  (a) Old warehouse, new cooling system construction project  Maintenance employees required to wear half face air purifying respirators while cutting, jackhammering and cleaning up concrete during floor hole construction were not fit tested prior to unitial use of the respirator.  Personal monitoring on  4/19/13 indicated employees jackhammering and cutting were overexposed to crystalline silica.  Eight hour Time Weighted Average exposures were 10.3 million particles per cubic foot (mppcf) for jackhammering, 1.5 times the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 6.94 mppcf and 11.3 mppcf for cutting, 1.1 times the PEL of 10.4 mppcf.  Zero exposure was assumed for unsampled periods of 38 and 7 minutes, respectively.  Violation occurred on or about 4/19/13.

Issued

May 23, 2013

Abate by

May 23, 2013

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9010

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(k): The employer did not provide effective training to employees who were required to use respirators:  (a) Old warehouse, new cooling system construction project  Maintenance employees required to wear half face air purifying respirators while cutting, jackhammering and cleaning up concrete during floor hole construction were not provided effective training.  Personal monitoring on 4/19/13 indicated employees jackhammering and cutting were overexposed to crystalline silica.  Eight hour Time Weighted Average exposures were 10.3 million particles per cubic foot (mppcf) for jackhammering, 1.5 times the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 6.94 mppcf and 11.3 mppcf for cutting, 1.1 times the PEL of 10.4 mppcf.  Zero exposure was assumed for unsampled periods of 38 and 7 minutes, respectively.  Violation occurred on or about 4/19/13.

Issued

May 23, 2013

Abate by

Jun 5, 2013

Penalty

Initial $4,900 · Current $3,000 Reduced

Hazardous substances 9010

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1926.55(a): Employee(s) were exposed to material(s) at concentrations above those specified in the Threshold Limit Values of Airborne Contaminants for 1970 of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists:    a) Old warehouse, new cooling system construction project, 7A North    An employee jackhammering concrete was exposed to respirable crystalline silica at 10.3 mppcf as an 8 hr. Time Weighted Average (TWA), which was 1.5 times the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 6.9 mppcf.  Zero exposure was assumed for 38 minutes not sampled.    Violation occurred on or about 4/19/13.      b) Old warehouse, new cooling system construction project, 7B North    An employee spraying water on a concrete saw during operation was exposed to respirable crystalline silica at 11.3 mppcf as an 8 hr. TWA which was 1.1 times the PEL of 10.4 mppcf.  Zero exposure was assumed for 7 minutes not sampled.    Violation occurred on or about 4/19/13.

Issued

May 23, 2013

Abate by

Jun 5, 2013

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9010

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1926.55(b): Equipment and technical measures used for controls were not first approved for each particular use by a competent industrial hygienist or other technically qualified person:  a) Old warehouse, new cooling system construction project, 7A North  An employee was allowed to jackhammer concrete flooring without any type of engineering control.  The employee was exposed to respirable crystalline silica at 10.3 million particles per cubic foot (mppcf) as an 8 hr. Time Weighted Average (TWA) which was 1.5 times the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 6.9 mppcf.  Zero exposure was assumed for 38  minutes not sampled.    Violation occurred on or about 4/19/13.   b) Old warehouse, new cooling system construction project, 7B North  A company engineer had an employee spray hot water from a garden hose on a saw blade used by another employee to cut concrete flooring in a freezer.  The employee was exposed to respirable crystalline at 11.3 mppcf as an 8 hr. TWA which was 1.1 times the PEL of 10.4 mppcf.  Zero exposure was assumed for 7  minutes not sampled.  Violation occurred on or about 4/19/13.