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

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety & 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 potentially fatal burns when heating piping that contains made up edible tallow with a propane torch. Blending Area: Employees were exposed to potentially fatal burns and/or cause serious injury when heating piping that contained made-up edible tallow with a propane torch that has the potential to raise the temperature of the tallow above its flash point. Additionally nitrogen gas, as it is heated increases the pressure being exerted within the pipe that could cause a gasket or seal to fail within a valve or fitting. One method would be to install a thermostatically heated wire trace on all unheated piping to maintain the tallow in the piping at a temperature that would prevent it from solidifying.