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

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 was free from recognized hazards which were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that, employees were exposed to explosion, struck-by and burn hazards: (a) On or about May 18, 2017 and at times prior to that date, employees were exposed to explosion, struck-by and burn hazards while melting pieces of scrap material inside an Aramco A-50 Aluminum Sweat Furnace. An employee was seriously injured when an automotive strut containing oil was placed in the furnace and exploded, spraying the employee with heated oil. Among other methods, feasible and acceptable methods to correct this hazard would be to follow the requirements of the owners manual, which states, "Do not charge the furnace with captivated fluids". Develop and implement an inspection procedure where all scrap pieces are carefully inspected by the supervisor and furnace operators prior to any piece being placed into the furnace. The procedure should include a system for identifying, safely handling and screening out pieces that could contain hazards, such as captivated fluids, pressurized devices, containers or other items where contents may not be visible. Employees who perform work involving the use of the furnace as well as supervisors responsible for oversight of this work should be trained and/or retrained on how to recognize and avoid types of scrap materials that may contain hazardous items such as any vessels/containers pressurized with air, gas or that contain fluids including but not limited to shock absorbers, accumulators, hydraulic cylinders and any other device or unit containing stored energy or flammable/combustible liquids. The training should include, among other things, specific examples of what types of equipment and materials these items are commonly found in, how to identify particular types of equipment and where the components are typically located within the equipment. The training should also cover what actions and precautions must be taken once a hazardous component is discovered.