OSHA Inspection: POHL MACHINING, INC.

Issued

Apr 17, 2023

Penalty

Initial $6,250 · Current $4,375 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(e)(1):  Medical evaluation. Using a respirator may place a physiological burden on employees that varies with the type of respirator worn, the job and workplace conditions in which the respirator is used, and the medical status of the employee. Accordingly, this paragraph specifies the minimum requirements for medical evaluation that employers must implement to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator. General. The employer shall 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.  a) On or about January 20, 2023, the employer did not ensure that employees who were required to wear half-mask tight-fitting elastomeric respirators, such as the GVS Elipse P100, were medically evaluated prior to use.

Issued

Apr 17, 2023

Penalty

Initial $4,687 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(f)(2): Fit testing. This paragraph requires that, before an employee may be required to use any respirator with a negative or positive pressure tight-fitting facepiece, the employee must be fit tested with the same make, model, style, and size of respirator that will be used. This paragraph specifies the kinds of fit tests allowed, the procedures for conducting them, and how the results of the fit tests must be used. The employer shall ensure that an employee using a tight-fitting facepiece respirator is fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator, whenever a different respirator facepiece (size, style, model or make) is used, and at least annually thereafter.  a) On or about January 20, 2023, the employer did not ensure that employees who were required to wear 1/2 mask tight-fitting elastomeric respirators, such as the GVS Elipse P100, while glass bead blasting were fit-tested prior to use.

Issued

Apr 17, 2023

Abate by

Apr 27, 2023

Penalty

Initial $4,687 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(h)(2)(i):  Maintenance and care of respirators. This paragraph requires the employer to provide for the cleaning and disinfecting, storage, inspection, and repair of respirators used by employees. Storage. The employer shall ensure that respirators are stored as follows: All respirators shall be stored to protect them from damage, contamination, dust, sunlight, extreme temperatures, excessive moisture, and damaging chemicals, and they shall be packed or stored to prevent deformation of the facepiece and exhalation valve.  a) On or about January 20, 2023, the employer did not ensure that respirators were stored to protect them from dust and contamination, in that, a 3M 1/2 mask elastomeric respirator was sitting on a forklift not in a bag and protected.   b) On or about January 20, 2023, the employer did not ensure that respirators were stored to protect them from dust and contamination, in that a Bulwark supplied air blasting helmet was being stored on the wall in the blasting building uncovered.

Issued

Apr 17, 2023

Abate by

May 11, 2023

Penalty

Initial $7,813 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(i)(7): Breathing air quality and use. This paragraph requires the employer to provide employees using atmosphere-supplying respirators (supplied-air and SCBA) with breathing gases of high purity. For oil-lubricated compressors, the employer shall use a high-temperature or carbon monoxide alarm, or both, to monitor carbon monoxide levels. If only high-temperature alarms are used, the air supply shall be monitored at intervals sufficient to prevent carbon monoxide in the breathing air from exceeding 10 ppm.  a) On or about  January 20, 2023, the employer did not ensure that the breathing air used in the blasting hood was monitored for carbon monoxide when the oil lubricated compressor only had a high-temperature alarm.

Issued

Apr 17, 2023

Abate by

May 11, 2023

Penalty

Initial $4,687 · Current $4,375 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1200(h)(1): Employers shall provide employees with effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment, and whenever a new chemical hazard the employees have not previously been trained about is introduced into their work area. Information and training may be designed to cover categories of hazards (e.g., flammability, carcinogenicity) or specific chemicals. Chemical-specific information must always be available through labels and safety data sheets.  a) On or about January 20, 2023, the employer did not ensure that employees were provided with training and information on chemicals, such as but not limited to, glass beads for blasting (respirable dust), propane (flammable), and machine oils (irritants), that they work with.

Issued

Apr 17, 2023

Abate by

May 5, 2023

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.132(d)(2): Hazard assessment and equipment selection. The employer shall verify that the required workplace hazard assessment has been performed through a written certification that identifies the workplace evaluated; the person certifying that the evaluation has been performed; the date(s) of the hazard assessment; and, which identifies the document as a certification of hazard assessment.  a) On or about January 20, 2023, the employer had not verified that a workplace hazard assessment had been performed through a written certification with the date, person certifying the evaluation, and which identifies the document as a certification of hazard assessment.

Issued

Apr 17, 2023

Abate by

May 11, 2023

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(k)(6): Training and information. The basic advisory information on respirators, as presented in Appendix D of this section, shall be provided by the employer in any written or oral format, to employees who wear respirators when such use is not required by this section or by the employer.   a) On or about January 20, 2023, the employer had not provided employees with the information contained in Appendix D when they were allowed to voluntarily wear 3M 8210 Filtering facepiece respirators.

Issued

Apr 17, 2023

Abate by

May 22, 2023

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1200(g)(8): Safety data sheets.  The employer shall maintain in the workplace copies of the required safety data sheets for each hazardous chemical, and shall ensure that they are readily accessible during each work shift to employees when they are in their work area(s). (Electronic access and other alternatives to maintaining paper copies of the safety data sheets are permitted as long as no barriers to immediate employee access in each workplace are created by such options.)  a) On or about January 20, 2023, the employer had not maintained copies of the required safety data sheets for the chemicals in the workplace, such as but not limited to Black Diamond and Portermastic 7000 Industrial White coating, in that the books available for employee's review contained material safety data sheets and not the updated safety data sheets.