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

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 the failure of storage tank piping and valves, resulting in the release of highly corrosive materials. a)Acid Storage Tank area: An exterior acid storage tank on the south side of the distribution building was not equipped with materials of construction that were compatible with the oxidizer being stored, in this case nitric acid (40-70%). There is no preventative maintenance procedure in place to ensure the integrity of the tank and its associated systems are functional. The strainer top bolts at the front of the tank filling pipe line failed, resulting in an accidental release of the nitric acid during charging, on or about 09/15/98. Abatement Note: Feasible and acceptable methods of abatement to correct this hazard are, such as but not limited to: 1) To comply with NFPA 430 Code for the Storage of Liquid and Solid Oxidizers 1995 Edition, Chapter 2, Basic Requirements, Section 2-3, Storage Containers, Tanks, and Bins, Section 2-3.2, Tanks and Bins. 2) Implementation of a routine preventative maintenance program that includes physical inspection of piping system and its relative parts, such as but not limited to, o-rings, piping joints, strainer components including strainer bolts. Established preventative maintenance program should include inspection of all pertinent components on a routine basis as well as before tank filling operations occurring. 3) Installation of a shut-off valve and/or a one-way check valve at the front of the charge line would allow any undesirable back flow to be stopped at that point.d