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 caused or were likely to cause death or serious physical harm in that employees were exposed to combustible dust explosion, deflagration, and fire hazards presented by an indoor dust collection system handling combustible powder coating paint dust that was installed and operated in a manner that exposed employees to several hazardous outcomes in the event of an internal deflagration and/or an internal fire: On or about March 10, 2020, in the Lawton 300 Ton Press 60 and powder coat area, the employer operated a Torit fabric filter dust collector inside of the facility without the means to protect employees from the hazards associated with (1) an explosion resulting from the pressures associated with an internal deflagration in the dust collector and (2) propagation of a deflagration from the dust collector to connected upstream equipment and/or through the exhaust air outlet, and (3) propagation of the hazardous byproducts from a fire (i.e. smoke, toxic gas, etc.) into the occupied building through the exhaust air outlet.