OSHA Inspection: QUALITY SANDBLASTING, LLC

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Sep 2, 2025

Penalty

Initial $6,452 · Current $3,226 Reduced

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.94(a)(3)(i):  Blast-cleaning enclosures shall be exhaust ventilated in such a way that a continuous inward flow of air will be maintained at all openings in the enclosure during the blasting operation:  On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer's blast cleaning room was not ventilated in such a way that continuous inward flow of air was maintained at all openings in the enclosure during blasting operations.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Sep 2, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.94(a)(3)(i)(b):  The rate of exhaust shall be sufficient to provide prompt clearance of the dust-laden air within the enclosure after the cessation of blasting:  On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer's blast cleaning room was not ventilated and did not provide sufficient exhaust to promptly clear dust-laden air withing the room after abrasive blasting was stopped.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Sep 2, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1053(c): Permissible exposure limit (PEL). The employer shall ensure that no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of respirable crystalline silica in excess of 50 g/m3, calculated as an 8-hour TWA:  At a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI;  a) On March 15, 2024, a Blaster employee in the blast cleaning room was exposed to an 8-hour time weighted average (TWA) of  75 ug/m^3 for respirable crystalline silica, approximately 1.5 times the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 50 ug/m^3. The exposure level was derived from samples collected over a 274 minute sampling period, with zero exposure assumed for the unsampled period of 206 minutes.  b) On March 15, 2024, a Blaster employee in the blast cleaning room was exposed to an 8-hour time weighted average (TWA) of  118 ug/m^3 for respirable crystalline silica, approximately 2.4 times the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 50 ug/m^3. The exposure level was derived from samples collected over a 268 minute sampling period, with zero exposure assumed for the unsampled period of 212 minutes.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Sep 2, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9000

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:  On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer did not use engineering or work practice controls to reduce and maintain Blaster employees' exposures to respirable crystalline silica to or below the PEL.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Sep 2, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1053(f)(3):  In addition to the requirements of paragraph (f)(1) of this section, the employer shall comply with other OSHA standards, when applicable, such as 29 CFR 1910.94 (Ventilation), 29 CFR 1915.34 (Mechanical paint removers), and 29 CFR 1915 Subpart I (Personal Protective Equipment), where abrasive blasting is conducted using crystalline silica-containing blasting agents, or where abrasive blasting is conducted on substrates that contain crystalline silica:  On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer did not comply with 29 CFR 1910.94 (Ventilation standard) when employees were conducting abrasive blasting using crystallin silica-containing abrasive media. The employer did not install or use exhaust ventilation to reduce airborne exposure to dust generated during abrasive blasting operations.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Aug 23, 2024

Penalty

Initial $6,452 · Current $3,226 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.94(a)(5)(ii)(a):  Abrasive-blasting respirators shall be worn by all abrasive-blasting operators when working inside of blast-cleaning rooms:  On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; a Blaster employee removed their abrasive-blasting respirator when working inside of the blast-cleaning room while another Blaster employee was still operating.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Aug 23, 2024

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.242(b):  Compressed air used for cleaning. Compressed air shall not be used for cleaning purposes except where reduced to less than 30 p.s.i. and then only with effective chip guarding and personal protective equipment:  On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer allowed an employee to use compressed air to clean their coveralls. The compressed air system was operated over 30 p.s.i. and the air wand used by the employee was not equipped with a safety nozzle.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Aug 23, 2024

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1053(h)(2)(i): The employer shall not allow compressed air to be used to clean clothing or surfaces where such activity could contribute to employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica unless compressed air is used in conjunction with a ventilation system that effectively captures the dust cloud created by the compressed air:   On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer allowed an employee to use compressed air to clean their coveralls after blasting cleaning with silica sand and being exposed to airborne respirable crystalline silica. The compressed air cleaning of the employee's coverall would contribute to the employee's exposure to respirable crystalline silica; no ventilation system was used in conjunction.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Aug 23, 2024

Penalty

Initial $3,687 · Current $1,842 Reduced

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(e)(6)(i):  In determining the employee's ability to use a respirator, the employer shall obtain a written recommendation regarding the employee's ability to use the respirator from the PLHCP:   On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer did not obtain written recommendations for each Blaster operator regarding their ability to use blasting helmet respirators.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 0560

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(i)(7):  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:  On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the carbon monoxide detection and alarm system (GfG Respiratory Air Monitoring 4021 AutoCal System) was unplugged from power and was not operational. Employees wearing abrasive blast helmet respirators were utilizing breathing air provided by an oil-lubricated compressor (Gardner Denver, Model LRS160-290B, S# S611282), which was not monitored for carbon monoxide.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Oct 7, 2024

Penalty

Initial $6,452 · Current $3,226 Reduced

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1053(d)(3)(i):  The employer shall perform initial monitoring to assess the 8-hour TWA exposure for each employee on the basis of one or more personal breathing zone air samples that reflect the exposures of employees on each shift, for each job classification, in each work area. Where several employees perform the same tasks on the same shift and in the same work area, the employer may sample a representative fraction of these employees in order to meet this requirement. In representative sampling, the employer shall sample the employee(s) who are expected to have the highest exposure to respirable crystalline silica:  On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer had not performed initial monitoring to assess the 8-hour TWA exposure for the Blaster employees working simultaneously in the blast cleaning room while utilizing silica sand blasting media.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Sep 4, 2024

Penalty

Initial $6,452 · Current $0 Reduced

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1053(i)(1)(i):  The employer shall make medical surveillance available at no cost to the employee, and at a reasonable time and place, for each employee who will be occupationally exposed to respirable crystalline silica at or above the action level for 30 or more days per year:   On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer had not made medical surveillance available to Blaster employees who were exposed to airborne respirable crystalline silica above the action level (AL) for more than 30 days per year.

Issued

Jul 26, 2024

Abate by

Aug 23, 2024

Penalty

Initial $4,610 · Current $0 Reduced

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1200(f)(6)(ii):   The employer shall ensure that each container of hazardous chemicals in the workplace is labeled, tagged or marked with product identifier and words, pictures, symbols, or combination thereof, which provide at least general information regarding the hazards of the chemicals, and which, in conjunction with the other information immediately available to employees under the hazard communication program, will provide employees with the specific information regarding the physical and health hazards of the hazardous chemical:  On or about March 15, 2024, at a facility located at 1144 Ashwaubenon Street in Ashwaubenon, WI; the employer did not ensure two silos and a relocatable grit pot, each containing silica sand blasting media, were labeled, tagged, or marked with a product identifier and hazard warnings of the chemical within.