OSHA Inspection: SA RECYCLING LLC

Issued

Mar 1, 2024

Abate by

Mar 27, 2024

Penalty

Initial $16,131 · Current $11,292 Reduced

General-duty citation text

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees:  On or about October 19, 2023, at a Union Pacific Rail Yard located at 7694 Front Road, North Platte, Nebraska, the employer exposed employees operating a Volvo EC250E excavator used for lifting and moving used steel railroad rails to the recognized hazard of being struck by a steel rail as it was being lifted and moved.      The excavator, was equipped with a Genesis Handling Grapple (GHG), Model GHG 75 used to  sort and load the steel  rails onto semi-trailers for recycling purposes.  The steel rails ranged in lengths up to approximately 39 feet long and weights up to approximately 5,500 pounds.  The excavator operator suffered serious physical injuries when a rail slid out of the handling grappler and penetrated the operator cab windshield striking the operator.        AMONG OTHER METHODS, FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHODS TO CORRECT THIS HAZARD INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:  i.	Equip excavator cabs with a falling object guard or protective structure or similar devices designed to protect operators from objects entering the cab and striking the operator. For example, the manual for the grappler used on the subject excavator provides: "Falling Object Protection Structures, or FOPs, are necessary for any application where material is to be handled overhead." (Emphasis added.)   ii.	Use grapplers that are designed to lift and carry smooth surface items such as railroad rails; and iii.	Train/retrain excavator operators on the hazards associated with lifting railroad rails with a grapple attachment and the proper techniques to maintain control of rails being handled with the grapple attachment, including the proper orientation of the load to avoid it striking the cab if it were to become loose and  the importance of pinching each lifted item in the teeth of the grapple, rather than loosely lifting and carrying items that may slide out.