Inspection Detail

Inspection: 306746900 - U.S. Plastic Lumber Corp.

Inspection Information - Office: Jacksonville Area Office

Inspection Nr: 306746900

Report ID: 0419700

Date Opened: 08/18/2003

Site Address:
U.S. Plastic Lumber Corp.
1909 Ne 25th Street
Ocala, FL 34470

Mailing Address:
, , 00000

Union Status: NonUnion

SIC:3089

NAICS: 326199/All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing

Inspection Type: Accident

Scope: Complete

Advanced Notice: Y

Ownership: Private

Safety/Health: Safety

Close Conference: 10/08/2003

Emphasis:

Case Closed: 01/01/2016

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Accident	101353258

Violation Summary
Violations/Penalties	Serious	Willful	Repeat	Other	Unclass	Total
Initial Violations	7					7
Current Violations	7					7
Initial Penalty	$17,625	$0	$0	$0	$0	$17,625
Current Penalty	$12,000	$0	$0	$0	$0	$12,000
FTA Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0

Violation Items
#	Citation ID	Citaton Type	Standard Cited	Issuance Date	Abatement Due Date	Current Penalty	Initial Penalty	FTA Penalty	Latest Event
1.	01001	Serious	5A0001	01/28/2004	02/24/2004	$4,900	$7,000	$0	I - Informal Settlement
2.	01002	Serious	19100212 A01	01/28/2004	02/09/2004	$1,100	$1,700	$0	I - Informal Settlement
3.	01003A	Serious	19100215 A04	01/28/2004	02/02/2004	$1,400	$1,700	$0	I - Informal Settlement
4.	01003B	Serious	19100215 B09	01/28/2004	03/01/2004	$0	$0	$0	I - Informal Settlement
5.	01004	Serious	19100242 B	01/28/2004	02/09/2004	$1,100	$1,700	$0	I - Informal Settlement
6.	01005	Serious	19100253 B04 III	01/28/2004	02/02/2004	$1,480	$2,125	$0	I - Informal Settlement
7.	01006	Serious	19100304 E01 IV	01/28/2004	02/02/2004	$1,100	$1,700	$0	I - Informal Settlement
8.	01007A	Serious	19100305 B01	01/28/2004	02/02/2004	$920	$1,700	$0	I - Informal Settlement
9.	01007B	Serious	19100305 B02	01/28/2004	03/01/2004	$0	$0	$0	I - Informal Settlement

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 201352242

Event: 08/18/2003

Employee died from explosion of a dehydration system

On August 18, 2003, an employee, an extruder operator, was in the area where a coworker, an operator, was using a Heil dehydration system to dry wood dust. The coworker had difficulty in starting the equipment which used natural gas as a fuel. He attempted to start the system several times. During these attempts, portions of the system were turned on and off. The natural gas supply was on for approximately 45 minutes, and this resulted in the system being filled with natural gas. On the fourth attempt to start the system, the natural gas was ignited, and an explosion occurred. The coworker was not close to the equipment at the time of the explosion, and was not seriously injured. However, the employee was in the area blowing dust from his clothes. The blast and debris from the explosion struck the employee, causing head trauma and other injuries. He died as a result of these injuries. The employer had not repaired or replaced parts of this system which had been identified as being in poor repair, such as the pilot burner, igniter assembly. The employer also did not have an inspection, testing and maintenance program in place for the dehydration system.

Keywords: DUST, NATURAL GAS, EXPLOSION

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	306746900			Fatality	Fracture	Occupation not reported

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