Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 003A Hazard:

29 CFR 1910.119(d)(3)(ii): The employer did not document that equipment complies with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices: a) 8141 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville, DE (Engine Room, SE End of Facility): On or about July 17, 2023, employees were subject to an increased risk for severe injury due to both the potential fire and toxic chemical overexposure hazards posed by anhydrous ammonia under certain conditions as the employer did not document the equipment complies with Section 6.4 of ANSI/IIAR 2 - Standard for the Safe Design of Closed-Circuit Refrigeration Systems when the employer stored a pallet holding 55-gallon drums, containing combustible waste oil, in the engine room placed on the floor in front of a ventilation louver blocking both egress through an aisle and air flow through the louver. Insufficient air flow can result in excessive ammonia vapor accumulation in the engine room in the event of an ammonia release with subsequent employee overexposure to ammonia. Furthermore, the presence of this waste oil, a combustible material, within the engine room could augment a fire initiated by the ignition an ammonia vapor cloud within the engine room under the right conditions. b) 8141 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville, DE (Engine Room, SE End of Facility): On or about July 17, 2023, employees were subject to an increased risk for severe injury due to both the potential fire and toxic chemical overexposure hazards posed by anhydrous ammonia under certain conditions as the employer did not document the equipment complies with Section 6.8.2 of ANSI/IIAR 2 - Standard for the Safe Design of Closed-Circuit Refrigeration Systems when the employer did not ensure the ventilation in the engine room met the requirements of IIAR 2-2014, Section 6.14.7 for emergency ventilation, and IIAR-2-2014, Section 6.13 for ammonia detection, for an engine room not classified as a Class I, Group D, Division 2 location. Following an accidental release of ammonia in the engine room ammonia vapor can accumulate in the air at ignitable concentrations exposing employees to a fire hazard. c) 8141 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville, DE (Engine Room, SE End of Facility): On or about July 17, 2023, employees were subject to an increased risk for severe injury due to both the potential fire and toxic chemical overexposure hazards posed by anhydrous ammonia under certain conditions as the employer did not document the equipment complies with Section 6.10.2 of ANSI/IIAR 2 - Standard for the Safe Design of Closed-Circuit Refrigeration Systems when the employer did not ensure an engine room door, used as a means of egress, had panic hardware and swings in the direction of egress should employees exit from the engine room in the event of an emergency. Doors not having these features can delay an emergency evacuation from the engine room resulting in employee exposure potentially to both fire and chemical overexposure hazards posed by anhydrous ammonia in the engine room. d) 8141 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville, DE (Engine Room, SE End of Facility): On or about July 17, 2023, employees were subject to an increased risk for severe injury due to both the potential fire and toxic chemical overexposure hazards posed by anhydrous ammonia under certain conditions as the employer did not document the equipment complies with Section 6.12.1 of ANSI/IIAR 2 - Standard for the Safe Design of Closed-Circuit Refrigeration Systems when the employer did not install an emergency shut-off switch with "ON/ AUTO" override capability, a tamper-resistant cover, and clearly marked by signage indicating its function for emergency ventilation outside of the engine room. A person who inadvertently shuts off the emergency shut-off during an actual emergency release puts other employees at risk of overexposure to anhydrous ammonia. e) 8141 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville, DE (Engine Room, SE End of Facility): On or about July 17, 2023, employees were subject to an increased risk for severe injury due to both the potential fire and toxic chemical overexposure hazards posed by anhydrous ammonia under certain conditions as the employer did not document the equipment complies with Section 6.13.1 of ANSI/IIAR 2 - Standard for the Safe Design of Closed-Circuit Refrigeration Systems when the employer did not install visual alarm lights or an audible warning system inside and outside each entrance to the engine room, nor a remotely monitored alarm activated by a detector at concentrations of 25 ppm of higher inside the engine room. Failure to notify employees would delay possible corrective action, emergency evacuation, and emergency response exposing employees to an increased risk for overexposure to anhydrous ammonia. f) 8141 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville, DE (Engine Room, SE End of Facility): On or about July 17, 2023, employees were subject to an increased risk for severe injury due to both the potential fire and toxic chemical overexposure hazards posed by anhydrous ammonia under certain conditions as the employer did not document the equipment complies with Section 6.14.3.6 of ANSI/IIAR 2 - Standard for the Safe Design of Closed-Circuit Refrigeration Systems when the employer did not equip the exhaust fans in the engine room with non-sparking blades. Failure to ensure that the machinery room exhaust fans are non-sparking could result in unintended ignition of ammonia vapors during a release. Employees work on or near ammonia equipment of a regular basis. Failure to ensure that the machinery room exhaust fans are non-sparking could result in unintended ignition of ammonia vapors during a release. In the event of a release, sparking blades could ignite anhydrous ammonia in the air at concentrations between the UEL and LEL resulting in employee death or severe burn injuries. g) 8141 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville, DE (Engine Room, SE End of Facility): On or about July 17, 2023, employees were subject to an increased risk for severe injury due to both the potential fire and toxic chemical overexposure hazards posed by anhydrous ammonia under certain conditions as the employer did not document the equipment complies with Section 6.14.7.4 of ANSI/IIAR 2 - Standard for the Safe Design of Closed-Circuit Refrigeration Systems when the employer did not make provisions for employee notification at a remote location in the event of unexpected loss of power to or failure of the normal or emergency mechanical ventilation system or upon activation of an ammonia leak detector. Employees are at increased risk for overexposure to anhydrous ammonia or severe injury due to the ignition of accumulating ammonia vapors. (h) 8141 Seashore Highway, Bridgeville, DE (Engine Room, SE End of Facility): On or about July 17, 2023, employees were subject to an increased risk for severe injury due to both the potential fire and toxic chemical overexposure hazards posed by anhydrous ammonia under certain conditions as the employer did not document the equipment complies with Section 6.15 of ANSI/IIAR 2 - Standard for the Safe Design of Closed-Circuit Refrigeration Systems when signage such as NFPA 704 placards, alarms, restricted access, and emergency control switch did not exist. Failure to provide appropriate signage such as restricted personnel access to machinery room could lead to unauthorized employees accessing / operating anhydrous ammonia equipment without proper training resulting in a loss of containment.