Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: DUST&FUMES

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 fire and explosion hazards while working in the wood pellet manufacturing facility. The employer did not design, install, and operate the wood pellet processing equipment according to national consensus standards and guidelines for wood processing and woodworking facilities including but not limited to: NFPA 664 Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities, 2002 Edition: a) On or about February 6, 2007, the hammer mill was located in the basement of the facility. b) On or about February 6, 2007, the hammer mill did not have an explosion suppression system, relief vents to safely vent explosive forces or the hammer mill was not constructed to contain the explosive forces without releasing them into the environment. c) On or about February 6, 2007, the exhaust vent on the hammer mill was effectively closed with wood dust and the damper was maintained in a near closed position. Among other methods, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to correct this hazard include adherence to NFPA 664 Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities including, but not limited to: locate the hammer mill outside the building or in a detached or separate building from the main operations and install an explosion suppression system in the hammer mill, install relief vents which are able to safely vent the explosive forces to a safe location or construct the hammermill in such a manner that it can contain the explosive forces without releasing them to the environment. Additionally, design, install and operate the dust collection system for the hammer mill to prevent wood dust from collecting in the ducts by maintaining duct velocities above 4,000 feet per minute (fpm).