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

OSH Act of 1970 Section 5(a)(1): 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 reactive material/chemical hazards due to the practice of draining and vacuuming chemicals from totes into common containers without implementing means to prevent unwanted chemical reactions capable of causing serious physical harm to employees: (a) On or about February 13, 2017 and times previous, in areas such as, but not limited to, the cut and scrape area: Liquid chemicals from 250 gallon totes were drained throughout each shift and collected in a common containers i.e., (250 gallon plastic reservoir collection totes and 55 gallon steel drums) consisting of comingled chemicals. Similarly, in the cut and scrape area, vacuums were also used to remove residual chemicals from drain totes and the chemicals were comingled in the vacuums collection reservoir. The potential mixing of reactive materials/chemicals, as well as the mixing/addition of chemical unknowns, exposed employees to reactive chemical hazards (such as, but not limited to, chemical burns, burns from flame, inhalation of toxic gases/vapors, struck-by container fragments, etc.) associated with unwanted byproducts of potential chemical reactions including the generation of heat, the generation of gases/vapors with hazardous properties, and the generation of pressure.