OSHA Inspection: ASHLAND MONUMENT CO

Issued

Feb 24, 2025

Abate by

Mar 19, 2025

Penalty

Initial $4,965 · Current $4,965

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(1): Employers shall develop, implement, and maintain at each workplace, a written hazard communication program which at least describes how the criteria for labels and other forms of warning, safety data sheets, and employee information and training will be met.  On or about October 30, 2024, the employer failed to develop and maintain a written Hazard Communication (HAZCOM) program for employees working on the headstones in the back of the facility gluing, stenciling, painting, and sandblasting names, dates, and pictures onto the headstones. The process contained several products that were labeled as respirable and flammable hazards and identified as being able to cause serious respirable hazards, including products such as Starblast? XL, Crushed Stone Granite, 211 Stencil Filler, and Aerosol Black Shadow which contain chemicals including but also not limited to crystalline silica, toluene, heptane, methyl isobutyl ketone, and acetone.

Issued

Feb 24, 2025

Abate by

Mar 19, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(6)(ii): 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 October 30, 2024, the employer failed to develop and maintain product identifiers or information labels for secondary containers such as cans used for stencil fillers used to design and create textures on the headstones. This includes but is not limited to the product 211 Stencil Filler which contains chemical ingredients including but not limited to heptane and toluene which can cause a range of conditions such as irritation to damage to an employee's nervous system. Without proper labeling, employees may unintentionally expose themselves to these products that can cause serious injuries.

Issued

Feb 24, 2025

Abate by

Mar 19, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

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.  On or about October 30, 2024, the employer failed to train employees on the company's Hazard Communication (HAZCOM) program and the different chemical hazards found in their workplace. Employees working in the production area produce headstones by gluing, stenciling, painting, and sandblasting names, dates, and pictures, onto each of the headstones. Employees working on the headstones used several different products including but not limited to Starblast? XL, Crushed Stone Granite, 211 Stencil Filler, and Aerosol Black Shadow which contain chemicals that can cause flammable hazards and acute toxicity to employees including but not limited to crystalline silica, toluene, heptane, methyl isobutyl ketone, and acetone.

Issued

Feb 24, 2025

Abate by

Mar 19, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1053(d)(1): The employer shall assess the exposure of each employee who is or may reasonably be expected to be exposed to respirable crystalline silica at or above the action level in accordance with either the performance option in paragraph (d)(2) or the scheduled monitoring option in paragraph (d)(3) of this section.  On or about October 30, 2024, the employer did not conduct a silica exposure assessment for employees conducting operations inside and around the sand and steel blasters. Exposure assessments were not conducted for tasks that generated silica dust including but not limited to operating both the steel and sand blasters to conduct etching operations for headstones, entering symbols, letters, and even textures on the headstone. Lack of an exposure assessment can lead to a potential unknown exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust.

Issued

Feb 24, 2025

Abate by

Mar 19, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances 9000

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.  On or about October 30, 2024, the employer allowed dry sweeping as part of cleaning operations inside and around the sand and steel blasting operations creating an exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust to the employees in the area. Dry sweeping operations disrupted respirable crystalline silica dust that settled on the floor, causing it to become airborne. These dry sweeping tasks include but are not limited to housekeeping activities such as sweeping up dust and debris using a push broom throughout the shift.