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

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act: 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 explosion and/or fire at the furnace: (a)On or about August 26, 2002, and times prior thereto, the owner/employer did not maintain the asphalt furnace at the facility to ensure its safe operation. Conditions noted at the time of this inspection which contributed to this hazard included: 1)The electric spark ignition source for the pilot flame was not maintained. Employees, occasionally, used a propane handheld torch to ignite the burner. 2)Flame supervision (scanner), interlocked into the combustion safety circuitry, was not maintained on the main burner. 3)The brick lining the mouth of the hot plant was not maintained in a secure, stable condition. The hot plant was operated with loose brick that was not mortared into place. Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard is to establish, implement, and enforce an effective program for inspecting and maintaining the furnace including prohibiting the use of a handheld propane torch to ignite the burner and installing and maintaining a flame supervision scanner and control system on the main burner with automatic shutdown for flame failure as required by NFPA 86, Standard for Ovens and Furnaces, 1999. Specifically, Section 5-2.5.2 requirement for inspection testing and maintenance program, Section 5-2.6 requirement for safety devices be installed, used and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and Section 5-9.1 requirement for each burner flame be supervised by a combustion safeguard having a maximum flame failure response time of 4 seconds or less, that performs a safe-start check, and is interlocked into the combustion safety circuitry. Note: Abatement certification and supporting documentation are required for this item.