Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: ELECTRIC

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: 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 in that on or about December 14, 1989, operators of the Wisconsin curing ovens on the roll coating conveyor lines were exposed to the hazard of fire and/or explosion when vapors of flammable glue were inadvertantly ignited by the oven heating system resulting in an explosion. The curing ovens were operable without the use of the provided mechanical ventilation, thus allowing vapor build-up within the oven in excess of lower explosive limits. In addition, operator training was inadequate and did not result in demonstrated understanding of the equipment and of its operation to assure knowledge of and practice of safe operating procedures. This training did not include explosion hazards and sources of ignition encountered during oven operation, functions of controls, safety devices and emergency procedures, and was not conducted under the supervision of experienced person(s). Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard is to: 1) Install and maintain a mechanical ventilation system in accordance with NFPA 86-1987, "Standard For Ovens and Furnaces" which details electrical interlocks and flow switches in the safety control circuit of the curing ovens so that a loss of ventilation of airflow will immediately shut down the heating system of the particular oven section affected or, if necessary, a loss of ventilation shall shut down the entire oven heating system as well as the conveyor. 2) Develop and implement an oven operator training procedure which incorporates the fundamentals outlined in NFPA 86-1987 which shall include, as applicable: a) Combustion of fuel-air mixtures. b) Explosion hazards. c) Sources of ignition including auto ignition, for instance by incandescent surfaces. d) Functions of control and safety devices. e) Handling of special atmospheres. f) Scheduled retraining and testing of regular personnel to maintain a high level of proficiency and effectiveness. g) Conduct of all training under the supervision of experienced person(s) which results in demonstrated understanding of the equipment and of its operation to assure knowledge of and practice of safe operating procedures.