Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 002 Hazard:

29 CFR 1926.850(e): The employer had not determined if any type of hazardous chemicals, gases, explosives, flammable materials or similar dangerous substances were present in any pipes, tanks, or other equipment on the property. Where the presence of such substances was apparent, purging and testing were not performed and the hazard was not eliminated before demolition was started. (a) Rear of house (near garage) at 65 Hillside Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY The employer had not determined if hazardous concentrations of petroleum vapors were present in an underground storage tank containing residues of petroleum hydrocarbon products (e.g., No. 2 fuel oil), nor eliminated any related hazard before assigning employees to cut it. As employees used a STIHL TS 420 cut-off saw to cut the tank, sparks from that cutting operation ignited petroleum vapors from the tank, causing an explosion; on or about 5/7/15 ABATEMENT NOTE: Among other methods, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to correct these hazards include following recommendations by the American Petroleum Institute for Closure of Underground Storage Tanks in API Recommended Practice 1604, Third Edition, March 1996. (Reaffirmed 2001). Those recommendations call for, for example, the establishment of procedures to: (1) Eliminate all potential sources of ignition from the area of the Underground Storage Tank (e.g., smoking materials, non-explosion-proof electrical and internal combustion equipment); (2) Vent the Underground Storage Tank to free it of vapors while taking care to prevent discharge of static electricity during such venting; and (3) Test for the presence of hazardous vapor concentrations in and around the work area by using a Combustible Gas Meter.