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

29 CFR 1910.134(g)(1)(i)(A): Respirators with tight-fitting facepieces were worn by employees who had facial hair that came between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face or that interfered with valve function: a) Powder Plant: On or about August 2, 2017, and at times prior, the employer exposed an employee to respiratory hazards, in that the employer allowed an employee to retain facial hair that came between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face. The employee, adding powder to bags, was exposed to particulates not otherwise regulated (PNOR), respirable fraction at 25.903 mg/m3, which is an equivalent of 5.18 times the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 5 mg/m3. This exposure was determined from two samples totaling 315 minutes. Zero exposure was assumed for the un-sampled 165 minute period. b) Powder Plant: On or about August 2, 2017, and at times prior, the employer exposed an employee to respiratory hazards, in that the employer allowed an employee to retain facial hair that came between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face. The employee, adding powder to bags, was exposed to particulates not otherwise regulated (PNOR) respirable fraction at 93.446 mg/m3, which is an equivalent of 18.69 times the PEL of 5 mg/m3. This exposure was determined from two samples totaling 492 minutes. c) Powder Plant: On or about August 2, 2017, and at times prior, the employer exposed an employee to respiratory hazards, in that the employer allowed the employee to retain facial hair that came between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face. The employee, adding powder to bags, was exposed to particulate not otherwise regulated (PNOR) respirable fraction at 93.446 mg/m3, which is an equivalent of 18.69 times the PEL of 5 mg/m3. This exposure was determined from two samples totaling 492 minutes. d) Powder Plant: On or about August 2, 2017, and at times prior, the employer exposed an employee to respiratory hazards, in that the employer allowed the employee to retain facial hair that came between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face. The employee, adding powder to bags, was exposed to particulate not otherwise regulated (PNOR) respirable fraction at 14.506 mg/m3, which is an equivalent of 2.9 times the PEL of 5 mg/m3. This exposure was determined from two samples totaling 495 minutes. e) Polymer Plant: On or about August 2, 2017, and at times prior, the employer exposed employees to respiratory hazards, in that the employer allowed employees to retain facial hair that came between the sealing surface of the 3M N95 disposable filtering facepiece (Model 8511) and the face.