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

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: a. Employees who must enter confined spaces such as storage tanks, pits, and seed house tunnels were exposed to the hazard of engulfment from unprocessed cottonseed. Among other methods, feasible ;and acceptable abatement methods to correct this hazard are: 1. Implement the present confined space program by providing appropriate personnel, training, and equipment for work in confined spaces on all shifts. Also, develop the program to be specific to the facility. 2. Remove compacted cottonseed from the wall of the storge tank by working above the areas of compacted seed. The employer is not limited to abatement methods suggested by OSHA, i.e., methods explained are general and may not be effective in all cases. Other methods of abatement may be equally or more appropriate. Ultimate responsibility for determining the most appropriate abatement method rests with the employer, given its superior knowledge of the specific conditions on its worksite. The violation(s) described in this citation are alleged to have occurred on or about the day(s) the inspection was made unless otherwise indicated within the description given below each violation.