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

P.L. 91-596 Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: T he 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 p hysical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to the hazard of to a f ire caused by cleaning combustible dust with compressed air: a)At the pallet mac hines, on or about June 10, 2011 and at times prior to, employees used 90 psi co mpressed air for cleaning wood dust, a combustible dust from the floor beneath a nd around the machines, resulting in a combustible dust hazard. ABATEMENT CERTIF ICATION IS REQUIRED. Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard is to ensure that compressed air for cleaning be u sed in accordance with NFPA 664: Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facili ties, 2007, Section 11.2.1.1 which states: Surfaces shall be cleaned in a manner that minimizes the generation of dust clouds. Blowing down with steam or compre ssed air or even vigorous sweeping shall be permitted only if the following requ irements are met: (1) The floor area and equipment shall be vacuumed prior to bl owdown. (2) Electrical power and other sources of ignition shall be shut down, r emoved from the area, or classified for use in dusty areas per NFPA 70, National Electrical Code. (3) Only a low gauge pressure of 103 kPa (15 psi) steam or com pressed air shall be used. (4) No open flames, sparks from spark-producing equip ment, or hot surfaces capable of igniting a dust cloud or layer shall exist. (5) All fire protection equipment shall be in service.t