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 which were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that, employees were exposed to struck-by and fire hazards: a) On or about November 17, 2017, four employees were cutting metal at the All Recycling, Inc. job site. One of the employees was cutting a loader axle. The heat from the oxygen/propane torch ignited the pressurized tire. The pressurized tire then failed catastrophically which caused the split rim to strike and lacerate the employee's upper body which resulted in the employee's death. Torchero Fenix LLC had not developed and implemented an effective inspection process to inspect scrap pieces for hazardous conditions/components prior to cutting. These hazardous conditions/components could include, but are not limited to, pressurized tires and any other item which may contain stored energy. Among other methods, a feasible and acceptable method to correct this hazard would be to develop and implement an inspection procedure where all scrap pieces are carefully inspected by the supervisor and torch-cutters prior to conducting cutting on those pieces. The procedure should include a system for identifying and safely handling pieces that contain hazardous components and pressurized tires or other items where the contents may not be visible. Employees who perform torch-cutting work as well as supervisors responsible for oversight of this work should be trained and/or re-trained on how to recognize and avoid types of scrap materials (particularly heavy equipment parts) that may contain hazardous items. These hazardous items include, but are not limited to, any vessels/containers pressurized with air such as pressurized tires. 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.