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

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 a potential fire, explosion and pressurization hazard from the heating of materials incompatible with the safe operation of a Mercury Retort Oven: a) Advanced Environmental Recycling Company, L.L.C. employee(s) were exposed to the hazards of fire, explosion and pressurization of the No. 1 Mercury Retort Unit, when material(s) incompatible with the safe operation of the oven were allowed to be loaded into trays (boats) and processed (heated for a period of time) in the No. 1 Retort oven, when on March 14, 2000, a fire occurred during the early morning hours and subsequently pressurization of the Retort oven occurred later in the day, which resulted in the Retort's door being blown open and off its' hinge, and struck an employee who was engaged in a cleaning activity directly in front of the unit's door. Feasible means to abate this hazard includes but is not limited to the following: 1) Re-evaluate all of the safety features of the Retort unit(s), with specific attention being focussed on the possible use and placement of pressure relief device(s). 2) Develop and institute detailed procedures for identification and classification of incoming materials to be "retorted", so as to ensure only compatible materials are processed in this operation. This process must include rigorous steps to inspect the incoming shipments of materials and the "fingerprinting" of the waste and its origination by direct verification of the information completed on the Bill of Lading or Shipping Manifest. In cases involving any discrepancies, steps need to be taken and documented to contact the generator, supplier or shipper, collection of samples for analysis, or rejection of the shipment. 3) A method for clear and concise means of communication of Retort process(es) needs to be developed for all process runs, especially those that exceed the loading shifts work duration, so that all operators, shift supervisors, production/operations managers and process engineer(s) are aware of the steps taken in the processing and operations of the Retort units, specifically including those that are out of the "normal" operating parameters. In situations which are out of the "norm", an immediate chain of contact needs to be developed and utilized for prompt process decisions. 4) Thorough re-training must be conducted to ensure that workers performing any task with the Mercury Retort ovens are knowledgeable of the process procedures, process control equipment and devices, normal operating conditions and any potential upset or emergency conditions. The performance of a process hazard analysis, such as but not limited to those hazard analysis as, the What-if Analysis, the Checklist Analysis, the What-if/Checklist Analysis, the Fault Tree Analysis, and/or the Failure Mode Effects Analysis may aid not only as a tool for employee training, but also as a means for possible identification of other potential upset conditions. Abatement certification and documentation required within 10 days after abatement date. The certification shall include a statement that abatement is complete, the date and method of abatement, and state that employees and their representatives were informed of this abatement. Abatement documentation shall include documents demonstrating that abatement is complete, such as evidence of the purchase or repair of equipment, photographic or video evidence of abatement or other written records.