Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 006 Hazard: CHEMICAL

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 hazard of exposure to flammable vapors coupled with exposure to hazardous chemicals including toluene diisocyanate, methyl ethyl ketone and ethyl acetate: a) Churn/Reactor Area - Workers involved with manufacturing urethanes in the reactor kettles were exposed to the hazard of fire and/or explosion from flammable vapors coupled with exposure to hazardous chemicals including toluene diisocyanate, methyl ethyl ketone, and ethyl acetate on 7/11/90, through lack of inerting the reactor tanks when using flammable liquids during the manufacture of the urethanes and the cleaning of the of reactors. ABATEMENT NOTE: Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard would be the use of a blanket of an inert gas over the flammable liquids within the reactor vessels.