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

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 wood dust explosion, deflagration, or other fire hazards: a.On or before June 4, 2009, in the mill, surfaces were not cleaned in a manner that minimized the generation of wood dust clouds due to the employer permitting the use of compressed air (tested at 75 psi) for the removal of wood dust and not taking the necessary precautions such as vacuuming prior to blowdown and using non-sparking shovels and hoes. ABATEMENT NOTE: Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard includes following NFPA 664, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities (2007 Edition), including, but not limited to: discontinuing the use of compressed air or reducing the compressed air to 15 psi and taking additional precautions such as vacuuming prior to blowdown, shutting down electrical power and other sources of ignition, removing open flames, spark-producing equipment or hot surfaces, and ensuring that all fire equipment is in service. b.On or about May 28, 2009, large sections of ductwork used to pneumatically convey wood dust from the various wood processing machines in the dimensions shop to the dry dust building were not metallic and were nonconductive in construction such as the use of PVC pipes. ABATEMENT NOTE: Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard includes following NFPA 664, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities (2007 Edition), including, but not limited to: removing all plastic/PVC pipes and using only metallic ductwork which is conductive. c.On or about May 28, 2009, in the mill, foreign metallic material was not removed from the process material feed into the Morbark chipper. ABATEMENT NOTE: Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard includes following NFPA 664, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities (2007 Edition), including, but not limited to: installing a metal detector interlocked to shut down the flow of material or a magnetic separator upstream of the chipper. d.On or about May 28, 2009, in the mill, an enclosed dust collector/baghouse located inside for the trim saw was constructed partially of combustible material, was not equipped with a deflagration suppression system or deflagration relief vents, and for the recycled exhaust air inside the building was not equipped with a spark detection system connected directly to a spark extinguishing system or equivalent. ABATEMENT NOTE: Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard includes following NFPA 664, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities (2007 Edition), including, but not limited to: removing the dust collector from inside the mill, redesigning and constructing the dust collector of welded steel or other noncombustible material of sufficient strength to withstand the maximum unvented deflagration pressure of the material being collected, or equipping the dust collector with a listed deflagration suppression system or deflagration relief vents with the proper venting; and for the recycled exhaust air, exhausting air outside of the building or equipping the dust collector with a spark detection system connected directly to a spark extinguishing system or high-speed abort gate. e.On or about May 28, 2009, in the dry dust building where wood dust was pneumatically conveyed from the dimensions shop, the structure was not designed, constructed, and maintained to prevent deflagrations from causing failure of load-bearing structural members and propagating into adjacentwork areas, the two cyclones located inside the building had no explosion protection system, and the ducts entering the dry dust building from the material entry points were not equipped with a spark detection and extinguishing system or equivalent. ABATEMENT NOTE: Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard includes following NFPA 664, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities (2007 Edition), including, but not limited to: designing the fire and deflagration safety provisions of the dry dust building collection process based upon an analysis of the process and the fire and deflagration hazards encompassed by the process; locating, designing, constructing, equipping, and maintaining the structure to prevent deflagrations from causing failure of structural members and propagating into adjacent areas; and designing pneumatic conveying systems in accordance with NFPA 654, Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids.late