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: (a)Fire and explosion from the release of combustible liquid vapors from tank #8, in that the tank and all tank appurtenances, including, but not limited to, emergency vents (including venting to a safe location) sample valves and dip holes were not properly inspected and maintained to ensure that they function as intended, such as, but not limited to the following: 1)The sample valve (run off) was corroded and failed at its thread section. 2)The emergency vent hatch was prevented from opening as designed because of a catwalk extension installed over the hatch. In addition, the openings on top of the tank was not designed to vent to a safe location. 3)The dip hole cover at the top of the tank was not of the self-closing type, nor was it of the liquid tight design. Among other methods, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to abate these hazards would include development and implementation of a program to inspect, test and maintain the quality and integrity of all critical equipment associated with processing tanks including safe venting locations in accordance with recognized industry practices, such as the American Petroleum Institute (API 750), NFPA 30 Code for Flammable and Combustible liquids and OSHA's Process Safety Management Standard 29 CFR 1910.119.