OSHA Inspection: U.S. MINERALS, LLC

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Abate by

Mar 29, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,390 · Current $2,156 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.95(i)(3): Employees shall be given the opportunity to select their hearing protectors from a variety of suitable hearing protectors provided by the employer.    The employer does not provide employees with a variety of suitable hearing protectors from which to select their hearing protection. Employees are provided one option of hearing protection in the form of orange foam disposable plugs with an NRR rating of 32 dBs. This violation was identified on or about September 24, 2013.

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Abate by

Mar 29, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,390 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.95(i)(5): The employer shall ensure proper initial fitting and supervise the correct use of all hearing protectors.    The employer does not supervise the correct use of hearing protectors by employees working in the manufacturing building. This violation was observed on or about September 24, 2013.

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Abate by

Mar 29, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,390 · Current $3,234 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.95(k)(2): The training program shall be repeated annually for each employee included in the hearing conservation program. Information provided in the training program shall be updated to be consistent with changes in protective equipment and work processes.    The employer does not ensure that training is provided on an annual basis for each employee included in the hearing conservation program. This violation was observed on or about September 24, 2013.

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Abate by

Mar 29, 2014

Penalty

Initial $3,850 · Current $2,695 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(d)(14): Review the permit space program, using the canceled permits retained under paragraph (e)(6) of this section within 1 year after each entry and revise the program as necessary, to ensure that employees participating in entry operations are protected from permit space hazards.     The employer does not review the permit-required confined space program using the canceled permits within 1 year after each entry or at least annually with all canceled permits to ensure that employees participating in entry operations are protected from permit space hazards. This violation was observed on or about September 24, 2013.

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Abate by

Mar 29, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,390 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(g)(3): The training shall establish employee proficiency in the duties required by this section and shall introduce new or revised procedures, as necessary, for compliance with this section.    The employer does not ensure that employees participating in permit-required confined space entry were proficiently trained and adquately understood the duties required of them during entry into permit-required confined space. This violation was observed on or about September 25, 2013.

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Abate by

Mar 29, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,390 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(k)(1)(i): Evaluate a prospective rescuer's ability to respond to a rescue summons in a timely manner, considering the hazard(s) identified:    The employer does not ensure that designated rescue personnel can respond in a timely manner. Rescue personnel as designated by the Permit-Required Confined Space Program were not evaluated to ensure timely response and their proficiency in performing the needed rescue services. This violation was observed on or about September 24, 2013.

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Abate by

Mar 29, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,390 · Current $5,390

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(k)(3)(i): Each authorized entrant did not use a chest or full body harness, with a retrieval line attached at the center of the entrant's back near shoulder level, or above the entrant's head:    The employer does not ensure adequate retrieval systems are used in the facility to facilitate non-entry rescue. The employer does not enforce the use of safety harnesses with attached retrieval line on all authorized entrants to permit-required confined spaces. This violation was documented on or about September 25, 2013.

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,390 · Current $2,156 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.178(l)(2)(ii): Training shall consist of a combination of formal instruction (e.g., lecture, discussion, interactive computer learning, video tape, written material), practical training (demonstrations performed by the trainer and practical exercises performed by the trainee), and evaluation of the operator's performance in the workplace.    The employer does not provide practical training and evaulations of all operators' performance in the workplace. Not all employees have not performed a practical excercise to demonstrate their ability to safely operate forklifts inside and outside the facility.

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.178(l)(6): Certification. The employer shall certify that each operator has been trained and evaluated as required by this paragraph (l). The certification shall include the name of the operator, the date of the training, the date of the evaluation, and the identity of the person(s) performing the training or evaluation.    The employer does not certify that each operator has been trained and evaluated as required by this paragraph (l). Not all powered industrial truck operators at the facility were not certified to operator powered industrial trucks. This violation was observed on or about September 24, 2013.

Issued

Mar 18, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,390 · Current $2,156 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.178(p)(1): If at any time a powered industrial truck is found to be in need of repair, defective, or in any way unsafe, the truck shall be taken out of service until it has been restored to safe operating condition.    The employer has not removed a yellow Hyster forklift being used by an employee in the facility has a damaged back-up warning light from service until restored to safe condition. On or about September 24, 2013 the forklift was found with a back-up warning light completely removed from the left side of the truck. The combination of the missing warning light and the high traffic within   presents a struck-by hazard.     A second instance of this violation occured on or about September 24, 2013 in which an orange Toyota forklift was being operated by an employee in the facility with hyrdaulic oil leaking from the lift mechanism. The combination of the leaking hydraulic oil and the nature in which the forklift was used to carry 1,000 lb bags of finished materials presents the possibilty of struck by and crush by hazards in the event of a mechanism failure.