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

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 oxygen deficiency: a) At the production area in building 1316, for the separate argon and nitrogen piping systems, the employer did not have the means to detect and control leaks, ruptures or a complete breach of the piping systems, on or April 4, 2010. The pipping system for argon is connected to a 900 gallons tank and the piping system for liquid nitrogen is connected to a 1,500 gallons tank that could, in the event of a failure in a piping systems, empty the entire contents of an individual storage tank into the facility. This condition exposes employees in the production area to an asphyxiation hazard. Feasible methods of abatements to control and/or correct the hazard associated with nitrogen and argon piping systems include the following: a. Install oxygen alarms at breathing zone level for the affected areas of the production area to warn employees of oxygen deficiency in the event of the breach in the systems. b. Install a piping monitoring system with controls to automatically shut down the systems in the event of a breach in the piping system. c. Install an audible/visual warning alarm system to coordinate with oxygen alarms and/ or piping monitoring system to initiate an emergency evacuation in the event of a breach in the piping system. d. Develop inspection and preventive maintenance procedures for the piping system to prevent leaks, ruptures or breaks associated with damage, corrosion, and other related issue. e. Develop an emergency action plan addressing the event of a failure in a piping systems.