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

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 serious burns from potential dust deflagration, explosion, or other fire hazards as the result of the improper design and maintenance of the dust collection systems: (a)Oak-Dale Hardwood Products, Inc. in Spring Valley, WI: The following deficiencies were found with the Honeyville Metal, Inc. bag house dust collector and associated systems used for collection of hardwood dusts: (1)A means of tramp metal protection was not provided to keep any unwanted metal fragments from entering the air-material separator (bag house). (2)A means of static charge dissipation, such as bonding or grounding was not provided between the air-material separator (bag house) and pieces of equipment which were connected by flexible non-metallic duct work on machinery such as, but no limited to, the IMC straight line rip saw, Northfield radial arm saw, and Medalist double end tenoner. (3)Use of flexible non-metallic duct work exceeded the minimum required for machinery operation on equipment, such as but not limited to, the Northfield radial arm saw and the Medalist double end tenoner. (4)A deflagration isolation or suppression system was not provided between the inlet (dirty air) side of the air-material separator (bag house) and the facility itself. (5)A spark detection system with high speed abort gate or extinguishment capability was not installed downstream of the last material entry points and upstream of the air-material separator (bag house) where machinery having a history of producing sparks, including a large belt sander having an automatic feed system (Durumac wide belt sander), was used. (b)Oak-Dale Hardwood Products, Inc. in Spring Valley, WI: The following deficiencies were found with the Grizzly enclosureless dust collection system associated with the Multicam CNC router: (1)A means of static charge dissipation, such as bonding or grounding, was not provided between the air material separator and the piece of equipment which were connected by flexible non-metallic duct work. (2)The system was located within 20 feet of a means of egress and routinely occupied areas. AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE MEANS OF ABATEMENT WOULD BE TO COMPLY WITH THE GUIDELINES OUTLINED IN NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION (NFPA) 664 "STANDARD FOR THE PREVENTION OF FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS IN WOOD PROCESSING AND WOODWORKING FACILITIES (2007) EDITION". Abatement certification and documentation are required for this item. Abatement note: Although not determined to be a hazard at the time of the inspection due to the diversion of return air to atmosphere during the warmer months, the employer should note the requirements of NFPA 664 (2007) Section 8.2.2.6 regarding requirements for safely recycling exhausted air and Section 8.2.4 regarding deflagration isolation of the return air (outlet) side from the facility. Abatement Schedule STEP 1 -A combination of administrative controls shall be implemented as an interim protection measure until feasible engineering and administrative controls can be permanently implemented. (Examples may include but are not limited to: frequent and routine housekeeping measures, visual inspection of stock materials for tramp metal, routine visual inspections of duct work for settled dust material or buildup with cleaning scheduled when adverse conditions are detected, movement of personnel from immediate proximity to the South wall and inlet duct work (dirty air) leading to the air-material separator (bag-house), and diversion of the clean air return duct work to outside atmosphere prior to re-entering the facility, and reduction of dust concentration introduced into the dust collection system by strategic planning of equipment run times). STEP 2 -A written, detailed plan of abatement shall be submitted to the Area Director outlining a schedule for the implementation of engineering and/or administrative measures to control employee exposures to the hazardous condition referenced in this citation. This plan shall include, at a minimum, target dates for the following actions which must be consistent with the abatement dates required by this citation: (1)Evaluation of engineering/administrative control options; (2)Selection of optimum control methods and completion of design; (3)Procurement, installation and operation of selected control measures; (4)Testing and acceptance or modification/redesign of controls; All proposed control measures shall be approved for each particular use by a competent certified safety professional, professional engineer, or other technically qualified person. STEP 3 - Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation of feasible engineering and administrative control upon verification of their effectiveness in achieving compliance. Date by Which Violation Must be Abated: STEP - 1 11/13/09 Date by Which Violation Must be Abated: STEP - 2 12/18/09 Date by Which Violation Must be Abated: STEP - 3 01/20/10