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

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 employees were exposed to the hazard of a 55 gallon metal drum rupturing or exploding that had air pressure applied for transferring turbine oil out of the drum: (a) In Storage Room, southwest corner, adjacent to Downrigger Technician station. The employer allowed the employees to trans- fer turbine oil out of a 55 gallon drum which had bulging in the top and bottom of the metal container by applying air pressure. While ultimate responsibility for correcting the hazard rests with the employer, given his/her superior knowledge of the workplace, feasible and acceptable methods to correct this hazard, among others, are: (1) Transfer oil from drum into a smaller container by using a hand pump; (2) Turn the 55 gallon drum horizontal on a rack and install a spout using gravity flow into a smaller container; or (3) Purchase a pressure vessel designed for the purpose of using air pressure for transferring.