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

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): 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 combustible straw dust deflagration and other fire hazards while working at or near a dust collector and associated upstream equipment which were not adequately designed to prevent or minimize employee exposure in the event of a deflagration or other fire event: (a) American Excelsior, Norwalk, Ohio: On or about June 6, 2013, the employer did not ensure that employees were protected from straw dust explosion and deflagration hazards. (1) Employees were exposed to hazards from a dust collector located outdoors and immediately adjacent to the truck loading operation. Explosion relief vents on the dust collector were directed directly towards employees loading trucks with straw and straw dust. (2) The dust collection system did not have deflagration isolation for upstream processes. The dust collection system lacked controls to prevent fire and pressure wave from moving upstream into the production building exposing employees to fire and explosion hazards. Among other methods, a feasible and acceptable method to correct this hazard would be to follow the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) NFPA 654 Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids, 2013 edition, Sections 7.1.4.1, 7.1.6, and 7.1.7, NFPA 61 Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities, 2013 edition, Sections 6.1, A6.1, and 6.3, NFPA 68 Standard on Explosion Protection by Deflagration Venting, 2007 edition, Sections 4.2.1.3, 5.2.3.3, 6.6.1, and 7.4.4. Specifically, (1) Re-direct the explosion vents so that they do not discharge into employee occupied areas per guidance in NFPA 68, install venting with listed dust retention and flame-arresting devices per NFPA 68, or install chemical deflagration suppression in accordance with NFPA 69; AND (2) install an active or passive deflagration propagation isolation device between the dust collector and the outer wall of the building to protect the upstream production equipment.