OSHA Inspection: AARROWCAST INC.

Issued

Sep 4, 2019

Penalty

Initial $7,246 · Current $5,072 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1):  One or more methods of machine guarding shall be 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.:    At a workplace located at 2900 E. Richmond Street, Shawano, WI 54166; the employer did not provide machine guarding to protect operators or other employees in the machine area from caught-between hazards presented by the Small Let-Down lift in the northwest corner of the BMM Molding line. BMM Molding employees placed their leg and foot between the lift and its frame in order to push flask cars onto the lift, which exposed them to the caught-between hazards between the lift and its frame during upward motion and between the lift and the platform during downward motion.

Issued

Sep 4, 2019

Abate by

Jun 12, 2020

Penalty

Initial $7,246 · Current $5,072 Reduced

Hazardous substances 9010

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1053(f)(1):  The employer shall use engineering and work practice controls to reduce and maintain employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica to or below the PEL, unless the employer can demonstrate that such controls are not feasible. Wherever such feasible engineering and work practice controls are not sufficient to reduce employee exposure to or below the PEL, the employer shall nonetheless use them to reduce employee exposure to the lowest feasible level and shall supplement them with the use of respiratory protection that complies with the requirements of paragraph (g) of this section:    At a workplace located at 2900 E. Richmond Street, Shawano, WI 54166; the employer did not use engineering and work practice controls, to the extent feasible, to reduce and maintain employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica to or below the PEL:    a)  On June 6, 2019, a Grinder employee at Grinding Booth #3 was exposed to an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) of airborne respirable crystalline silica at a level of 101 µg/m^3. This exceeds the 8-hour TWA PEL of 50 µg/m^3. The sampling was collected over 409 minutes during one shift with 0 µg/m^3 assumed for the unsampled 71 minutes of an 8-hour shift.    b)  On June 6, 2019, a Grinder employee at Grinding Booth #1 was exposed to an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) of airborne respirable crystalline silica at a level of 84.6 µg/m^3. This exceeds the 8-hour TWA PEL of 50 µg/m^3. The sample was collected over 418 minutes during one shift with 0 µg/m^3 assumed for the unsampled 62 minutes of an 8-hour shift.    Applicable administrative and engineering controls may include, but are not limited to the following:    1) Ensure the fresh air shower of the grinding booths is evenly distributed along the face of the exhaust hood. Include preventative maintenance procedures for ensuring; i) hood baffles are not damaged and are aligned properly; and ii) measure airflow across the face of the hood to ensure evenly distributed airflow.    2) At initial assignment of employees to the Grinder Booth positions, provide specific, focused, and documented training to employees on controlling and aiming the swarth (grinding sparks trail from handheld grinding tools) into the ventilation capture hoods as often as possible. Ensure the employees understand that the swarth is the element of grinding that contains the highest concentrations of airborne respirable crystalline silica. Reinforce that initial training with periodic audits of swarth control, periodic refresher training and active enforcement from Lead employees and department Supervisors.

Issued

Sep 4, 2019

Abate by

Mar 12, 2020

Penalty

Initial $7,246 · Current $5,072 Reduced

Hazardous substances 9010

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1053(h)(1):  The employer shall not allow dry sweeping or dry brushing where such activity could contribute to employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica unless wet sweeping, HEPA-filtered vacuuming or other methods that minimize the likelihood of exposure are not feasible:    At a workplace located at 2900 E. Richmond Street, Shawano, WI 54166; the employer allowed dry sweeping where such activity could contribute to employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Employees used push brooms to dry sweep the floor at the Plant 2 Pangborn, which generated visible clouds of molding sand dust, which contained respirable crystalline silica.

Issued

Sep 4, 2019

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4):  If the employer decides that its employees will enter permit spaces, the employer shall develop and implement a written permit space program that complies with this section. The written program shall be available for inspection by employees and their authorized representatives:  At a workplace located at 2900 E. Richmond Street, Shawano, WI 54166; the employer did not implement a written permit space program that complies with this section when the employer decided employees would enter permit spaces. A Refractory Supervisor entered the permit-required confined space (PRCS) of a furnace on Melt Deck 1 during furnace relining operations without a compliant entry permit or emergency retrieval system.

Issued

Sep 4, 2019

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 1591

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1025(l)(1)(i):  Each employer who has a workplace in which there is a potential exposure to airborne lead at any level shall inform employees of the content of Appendices A and B of this regulation:  At a workplace located at 2900 E. Richmond Street, Shawano, WI 54166; the employer did not inform Melt employees of the contents of Appendices A and B of the lead standard when a Melt Operator employee was exposed to lead dust while operating the scrap equipment.

Issued

Sep 4, 2019

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 0490

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1027(m)(4)(i):  The employer shall train each employee who is potentially exposed to cadmium in accordance with the requirements of this section. The employer shall institute a training program, ensure employee participation in the program, and maintain a record of the contents of such program:  At a workplace located at 2900 E. Richmond Street, Shawano, WI 54166; the employer did not train Melt employees on the requirement of this section when a Melt Operator employee was exposed to cadmium dust while operating the scrap equipment.

Issued

Apr 4, 2019

Abate by

May 2, 2019

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1904.29(b)(1):  You must enter information about your business at the top of the OSHA 300 Log, enter a one or two line description for each recordable injury or illness, and summarize this information on the OSHA 300-A at the end of the year:  At a facility located at 2900 E. Richmond Street, Shawano, WI 54166; the employer did not describe objects/substances that directly injured or made persons sick in column (F) of the OSHA Form 300 for 2018 and 2019.