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

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish to each of his employees a place of employment which was 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 engulfed by overhead and/or surrounding metal debris while working within the confined spaces of the caster unit. a) Employees were permitted to chip and remove metal debris in a hazardous method that created the potential for engulfment. As part of the normal work practice, employees chipped away and vacuumed out a heterogeneous mixture of metal scale and fragments that had in-filled the caster pits during the production of steel billets. Instead of removing this debris in a consistent work method from top to bottom, employees were allowed to tunnel through the debris thereby creating an engulfment hazard from debris remaining overhead. DISCLAIMERS: 1)You are not limited to the abatement methods suggested above. 2)The methods explained are general and may not be effective in all cases. 3)The employer is responsible for selecting and carrying out an appropriate method.