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 anhydrous ammonia contact, asphyxiation and explosion hazards related to potential release from the ammonia refrigeration system. On or about June 25, 2025, the employer failed to address and control anhydrous ammonia hazards by developing, implementing and maintaining operating procedures for employee use in activities involving the refrigeration system: (a) The employer failed to ensure that all activities were addressed with operating procedures. Ammonia refrigeration system activities, such as but not limited to, normal shutdown for the thermosyphon, normal shutdown for the recirculating vessel and startup after power outage, and did not have operating procedures in place. (b) The employer failed to ensure that operating procedures addressed refrigeration system with clear instructions for safely conducting activities, such as but not limited to temporary operations for pumps AP01 and AP02 and temporary operations for air handling units. The temporary operations procedures for the pumps read "the ammonia pump can be manually run from the starter panel" and the procedure for the air units read "the evaporator can be manually hot gas defrosted through the PLC" without any further instructions. (c) The employer failed to ensure that operating procedures were reviewed and updated following equipment changes, such as but not limited to compressor removal, new compressor installation, evaporator/chiller removal and evaporator/chiller installation. Failing to provide and maintain operating procedures with clear instructions for safely conducting refrigeration system activities increases the risk for ammonia related hazards due to anhydrous ammonia release from the system.