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

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 the following: a.The employer did not ensure pit walls were made of thermally stable materials. On or about November 09, 2003 employees working around Furnace #2 (Lectromelt Nose Tilt, 1952 model, size N, 90 degree nose tilt) were exposed to three explosions that occurred when molten metal burned through the Furnace #2 shell. The molten metal flowed into the runout (slag) pit melting through an A36 plate grade metal section of the refractory wall or the metal section was blown off by one of the explosions. The metal section was installed to replace refractory material in the wall between the two pits for production reasons. Four employees were sent to the hospital. Among other methods, a feasible method to correct the hazard would be to ensure walls between pits of the furnace were constructed of thermally stable product (refractory).