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

Section 6(a) of the Puerto Rico Occupational Safety and Health Act: 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 physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to: release, fire, and explosion: Seccion 6(a) de la Ley de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo de Puerto Rico: El patrono no proveyo empleo y un sitio de empleo libre de riesgos reconocidos que esten causando o que puedan causar muerte o dano fisico a los empleados, por cuanto empleados estaban expuestos a: escape, fuego y explosion: API - 2350 - JANUARY 2005 Cover Overfill Protection for Storage Tanks in Petroleum Facilities associated with marketing, refining, pipeline, and similar facilities containing petroleum liquids. a)At Caribbean Petroleum Refining in Bayamon (CAPECO), worked thirty (30) employees performing routine task such as tank operator,waste treatment operator,loading rack operator, among others. Employees were exposed or could be exposed to flammable and combustible release, fire and or explosionduring the performance of their duties at the tank farm area the employer stored gasoline, jet fuel, fuel oil, and diesel in above ground tanks, ranging from 500 to 500,000 barrels. The employer did not have a formal written operating procedures for safely filling of storage tanks and for the transfering according to API 2350 - 4.1.1. The employer provided documents that established which valves had to be closed or opened during the fill or transfer operations from tank to tank or from dock to tank, but did not mention in which order to proceed neither indicated any safety measure. (See Binder 3 Tab 2(a) OSHA Production NO. 2 11/20/09 - General instructions for the work to be performed during the shift). (See Binder 4 Tab 5 OSHA Production NO. 2 11/20/09 -Tranfering sheet). Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard is: 1.Follow API 2350 - 4.1.1 To provide for protection against overfills, written operating procedures shall be established by the employer. These procedures shall comply with the requirements of NFPA 30-2003 Section 4.6.1.3; The operating procedures shall describe an orderly, simple shutdown and/or product diversion procedure, and any other actions to be taken in the event of an emergency, including loss of communications, power, and so forth. API - 2350 - ENERO 2005 Abarca Proteccion contra el sobrellenado de tanques de almacenamiento en Facilidades Petroleras asociadas con mercadeo, refinacisn, sistema de tuberia y otras facilidades similares que contienen derivados del petroleo. En "Caribbean Petroleum Refining" en Bayamon (CAPECO), trabajaban treintaempleados realizando tareas rutinarias tales como operador de tanque, operador de tratamiento de aguas, operador de area de carga, entre otras. Empleados fueron expuestos o podrian estar expuestos a liberacion de productos quimicos inflamables, combustible, fuego y/o explosion durante el desempeno de sus deberes En el area de la granja el patrono almacenaba en tanques sobre el terreno gasolina, "jet-fuel", "fuel oil" y diesel, con capacidades de 500 a 500,000 barriles. El patrono no desarrollo procedimientos operacionales seguros para el llenado y transferencia de tanques de acuerdo al API 2350 -4.1.1. El patrono proveyo documentos que indicaba cuales valvulas iban a estar cerradas o abiertas en una operacion de transferencia de tanque a tanque o de tanque a muelle, pero no indicaban el orden a seguir ni indicaban ninguna medida de seguridad. (Ver Carpeta 3 Pestana 2(a) OSHA PRODUCTION NO. 2 11/20/09 - General Instructions for the work to be performed during the shift). (Ver Carpeta 4 Pestana 5 OSHA PRODUCTION NO. 2 11/20/09 Transfering sheet). Entre varios metodos, un metodo de correccion aceptable y factible para corregir este riesgo es: 1.Seguir el API 2350 - 4.1.1 para proveer proteccion contra el sobrellenado, procedimientos de operacion escritos deben ser establecidos por el patrono. Estos procedimientos deben cumplir con los requisitos del NFPA 30 2003 Seccion 4.6.1.3; Los procedimientos de operacion deben describir ordenadamente un cierre sencillo y/o una desviacion del producto, y cualquier otra medida a ser tomada en la eventualidad de una emergencia, incluyendo la perdida de las comunicaciones, energia y asi sucesivamente.,