OSHA Inspection: REX HEAT TREAT - LANSDALE, INC.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $7374.00 · Current $7374.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.28(b)(1)(i): The employer did not ensure that each employee on a walking-working surface with an unprotected side or edge that is 4 feet (1.2m) or more above a lower level was protected from falling by guardrail systems, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system:  a) Line 300: Maintenance employees working on the platform of the 370 furnace with unprotected edges greater than 11 feet above the lower level were exposed to fall hazards, on or about February 21, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Abate by

2020-05-26 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $4424.00 · Current $0.00 Reduced

Hazardous substances 81108111

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.95(k)(1): The employer did not train each employee who is exposed to noise at or above an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels in accordance with the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.95(k). The employer did not institute a training program and ensure employee participation in the program:    a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, was exposed to continuous noise at 84.1% of the permissible exposure level of 90 dBA or an eight-hour time-weighted average of 88.7 dBA. This exposure was observed over a 432 minute sampling period on February 26, 2020. The employer did not provide employees with the required training information, on or about February 26, 2020.      ABATEMENT NOTE:  Employees shall be informed of the following:  1. The effects of noise on hearing.  2. The purpose of hearing protectors, the advantages, disadvantages, and attenuation of various types, and instructions on selection, fitting, use, and care.  3. The purpose of audiometric testing and an explanation of the test procedures.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Abate by

2020-09-14 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $7374.00 · Current $7374.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(c): Employees were exposed to an airborne concentration of chromium (VI) which exceeded 5 micrograms per cubic meter of air (ug/m3), as an 8-hour time-weighted average:   a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, MIG welding, plasma cutting, and carbon arc gouging on a stainless steel piece was exposed to an 8 hour time-weighted average of 16.5 ug/m3 of hexavalent chromium. This level is 3.3 times the permissible exposure limit of 5 ug/m3. This exposure occurred over a 444 minute sampling period on February 26, 2020. A zero exposure is assumed for the 36 minutes not sampled.  Abatement certification required within 10 days after abatement date. The certification shall include a statement that abatement is complete, date and method of abatement, and states that employees and their representatives were informed of this abatement.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(d)(1): The employer with a workplace or work operation covered by this standard did not determine the 8-hour time-weighted average exposure for each employee exposed to chromium (VI):   a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, MIG welding, plasma cutting, and carbon arc gouging on a stainless steel piece and the employer did not conduct initial monitoring to determine the employees exposure, on or about February 21, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Abate by

2020-09-14 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(f)(1)(i): Feasible engineering controls and work practices were not instituted to reduce and maintain employee exposures to chromium (VI) at or below the permissible exposure limit:   a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, MIG welding, plasma cutting, and carbon arc gouging on a stainless steel piece was exposed to hexavalent chromium above the permissible exposure limit and the employer did not use engineering and work practice controls to reduce employee exposure, on or about February 26, 2020. (See Citation 1 Item 3a for a full description)    Feasible abatement methods include but are not limited to: 1. Install effective general exhaust ventilation for the Welding Room. 2. Research and install local ventilation with enough capture velocity to draw welding fumes away from the employee. 3. Develop work practice controls for welding on stainless steel such as but not limited to only welding within the capture velocity area of the ventilation used and the employee always faces the exhaust ventilation so that fumes are drawn away from the employee.    ABATEMENT STEPS ARE AS FOLLOW:    STEP 1 - A written detailed plan of abatement shall be submitted to the Area Director outlining a schedule for the implementation of engineering and/or administrative measures to control employee exposures to hazardous substances as referenced in this citation. This plan shall include, at a minimum, target dates for the following actions which must be consistent with the dates required by this citation:    1.  Evaluation of engineering control options;    2.  Selection of optimum control method and completion of design;    3.  Procurement, installation and operation of selected control measures;    4.  Testing and acceptance or modification/redesign of controls.    Note: All proposed control measures shall be approved for each particular use by a competent industrial hygienist or other technically qualified person. Ninety- (90) day progress reports are required during the abatement period.  (The 90 day requirement can be shortened or lengthened by the area director depending on the specific circumstances.)    STEP 2 - Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation of feasible engineering and/or administrative controls upon verification of their effectiveness in achieving compliance.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(g)(2): Respiratory protection program. Where respirator use is required by this section, the employer did not institute a respiratory protection program in accordance with �� 1910.134, which covers each employee required to use a respirator.  a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, was exposed to hexavalent chromium above the permissible exposure limit while welding on stainless steel and the employer did not institute a respiratory protection program as required by 29 CFR 1910.134, on or about February 26, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(e)(1): 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) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, was exposed to hexavalent chromium above the permissible exposure limit while welding on stainless steel and the employer did not provide employees with respiratory medical evaluations, on or about February 26, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(f)(1): The employer did not ensure that employee(s) required to use a tight-fitting facepiece respirator passed the appropriate qualitative fit test (QLFT) or quantitative fit test (QNFT):  a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, was exposed to hexavalent chromium above the permissible exposure limit while welding on stainless steel and the employer did not provide employees with a fit test, on or about February 26, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(k)(1): The employer did not provide respirator training that would ensure each employee could demonstrate knowledge of items in section (i)-(vii):  a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, was exposed to hexavalent chromium above the permissible exposure limit while welding on stainless steel and the employer did not provide employees with the required respiratory protection training on February 26, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $7374.00 · Current $7374.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(e)(1): The employer did not establish a regulated area wherever an employee's exposure to airborne concentrations of chromium (VI) was, or could reasonably be expected to be, in excess of the permissible exposure limit:  a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, MIG welding, plasma cutting, and carbon arc gouging on a stainless steel piece was exposed to hexavalent chromium above the permissible exposure limit and the employer did not establish a regulated area, on or about February 26, 2020. (See Citation 1 Item 3a for a full description)  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $7374.00 · Current $7374.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(h)(2)(iv): The employer did not ensure that bags or containers of contaminated protective clothing or equipment that were removed from change rooms for laundering, cleaning, maintenance, or disposal were labeled in accordance with the requirements of the Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200:  a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, exposed to hexavalent chromium at levels greater than the permissible exposure limit while welding on stainless steel was wearing a uniform and the container with contaminated uniforms removed for cleaning was not appropriately labeled with the chemical name and chemical hazards per 29 CFR 1910.1200, on or about February 26, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(h)(3)(iii): The employer did not inform any person who laundered or cleaned protective clothing or equipment contaminated with chromium (VI) of the potentially harmful effects of exposure to chromium (VI) and that the clothing and equipment should be laundered or cleaned in a manner that minimizes skin or eye contact with chromium (VI) and effectively prevents the release of airborne chromium (VI) in excess of the permissible exposure limit:  a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, exposed to hexavalent chromium at levels greater than the permissible exposure limit while welding on stainless steel wore a uniform that was deposited into a container for laundering and the employer did not inform the launderer that the clothing was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, on or about February 26, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(6)(ii): The employer did not ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals in the workplace was labeled, tagged or marked with words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals.  a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, wearing a uniform exposed to hexavalent chromium at levels greater than the permissible exposure limit while welding on stainless steel and the container containing contaminated uniforms was not appropriately labeled in accordance with this section on or about February 26, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $7374.00 · Current $7374.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(k)(1)(i)(A): The employer did not make medical surveillance available for all employees who were or could be occupationally exposed to chromium (VI) at or above the action level for 30 or more days a year:  a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, was exposed to hexavalent chromium above the action level while welding on stainless steel daily and the employer did not establish a medical surveillance program for hexavalent chromium, on or about February 26, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $7374.00 · Current $7374.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(l)(1): The employer did not ensure that all employees who were assigned to workplaces where there was exposure to Hexavalent Chromium were provided with information and training as required by the Hazard Communication Standard 29 CFR 1910.1200:  a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, was exposed to hexavalent chromium while welding, plasma cutting, and carbon arc gouging stainless steel and the employer did not include hexavalent chromium in the hazard communication program, on or about February 26, 2020.  No abatement certification or documentation required.

Issued

2020-05-12 00:00:00

Abate by

2020-06-01 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

Hazardous substances 0689

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1026(l)(2)(i): Prior to initial job assignment to an area where employees were subject to hexavalent chromium exposure, the employer did not ensure that each employee could demonstrate knowledge in the contents of 29 CFR 1910.1026 and the purpose and description of the medical surveillance program required by paragraph (k) of the standard:   a) Welding Room: An employee, Welder, was exposed to hexavalent chromium while welding, plasma cutting, and carbon arc gouging stainless steel and the employer did not ensure that each employee could demonstrate knowledge of the contents of the standard and the purpose and description of the medical surveillance program, on or about February 26, 2020.  Abatement certification required within 10 days after abatement date. The certification shall include a statement that abatement is complete, date and method of abatement, and states that employees and their representatives were informed of this abatement.