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

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 hazard of being struck by or caught between moving pipes. (a) On or about 8/28/98, an employee working on the west side of the building was exposed to crushing injuries while performing staging operations on the skids in the Cement Lining Department, when he was struck by a 80" diameter, 20,000 lb. pipe. The employee and another employee, working on the east side of the building, had manually moved this pipe to the north end of the skids, where it "rebounded" off the metal blocks and struck him in the back of the head as he attempted to retrieve another pipe. No anti-rollback devices were used to prevent the "rebound effect" from occurring. Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard includes engineering a permanant anti-rollback system to be built into the skids. In conjunction with this system, the employer could allow only the overhead crane to move large diameter pipes to and from the permanantly installed anti-rollback system. The permanant anti-rollback system could be sized to fit pipes of varying diameters. Using this system, helpers would perform only the end prep on the pipes and be responsible for following the current rules in place regarding safe work around overhead cranes. Additionally, employees must receive adequate training to make them aware of the hazards associated with walking or working between pipes and the employer must develop and train employees on concrete policies regarding the use of anti- rollback devices. Abatement Note: Abatement certification and documentation are required for this item (See enclosed "Sample Abatement-Certification Letter").