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 burns from a blowout at a well bore. a) On or about June 8, 2004, the employer, Reliance Well Service Inc, did not ensure that blow out preventers ( BOP ) were inspected daily. The employer had been installing pipe to the well for the past two days without an accumulator positioned a safe distance from the rig floor. A blow out occurred at approximately 1330 hours and the gas ignited burning several employees. The snubbing supervisor closed the blind rams at the well to stop the gas from escaping and was also burned in the process. Had the employer installed the accumulator the blind rams could have been closed from a safe distance. Among other methods, recognized and feasible means to correct this hazard include, but are not limited to, the employer can follow the recommendations of the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 54 6.4.7 which states that blow out prevention equipment should be inspected daily. The employer can also install, at a safe distance from the rig, an accumulator to control the opening and closing of the controls to each preventer in the BOP stack.ter