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

29 CFR 1910.132(a): Protective equipment, including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers, was not provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical irritants encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact: 800 Hall Street, St. Louis, MO 63147: Employer is exposing employees to hazardous conditions where the employees work with combustible powder without appropriate personal protective equipment. On 09/15/2020 an employee used a vacuum system to pull C-grade Iron powder into a hopper for mixing. Laboratory test results revealed that the powder was a Class II Dust with Explosion Severity of 0.86, a Hartman Kst value of 19.30 bars meter per second with a Pressure Ratio of 4.95. A single cable was used for grounding the entire system making grounding inadequate. There was limited bonding between the combustible powder and the vacuum unit used for pulling the powder into the hopper for mixing and the rest of the equipment which created potential sources of ignition exposing the employees to fire hazards. The employer did not provide appropriate personal protective equipment such as, but not necessarily limited to, fire resistant clothing, face protection, head protection, gloves and foot wear.