Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 008B Hazard:

29 CFR 1910.1000(e): Feasible administrative or engineering controls were not determined and implemented to reduce employee exposure below the permissible exposure limit: a. On or about June 26, 2013, in the home line powder coating booth, an employee performing electrostatic spray powder coating was exposed to airborne total dust at an 8 hour time weighted average of 55.2 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3), approximately 3.7 times the permissible exposure limit of 15 mg/m3 (8 hour TWA). Feasible administrative or engineering controls were not determined and implemented to reduce employee exposure to below the permissible exposure limits. General methods of control that may be applicable to the process include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. Employees should be positioned as far away from each other as possible in the booth during spraying. Avoid having both employees facing each other during spraying as to avoid creating or adding to exposure. 2. Ensure that hand electrostatic spraying equipment is properly adjusted and maintained to reduce excessive powder from being released. 3. Ensure good maintenance controls of the powder spraying system to ensure efficiency of process by ensuring proper grounding of entire system including, but not limited to the parts being powder painted. Proper grounding of parts shall increase the powder paint adherence and reduce overspray. 4. Clothing, equipment and surfaces should be cleaned in such a manner as to avoid creating exposure from dust clouds. 5. Develop and implement an employee job rotation schedule to reduce exposure levels by reducing exposure times to powders and dust. Abatement normally will be multi-step as follows: STEP 1: Effective respiratory protection in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.134 shall be provided and used by exposed employees as an interim protective measure until feasible engineering and/or administrative controls can be implemented, or whenever such controls fail to reduce employee exposure to within permissible exposure limits Abatement Period: 1 day STEP 2: Submit to the Area Director a written, detailed plan of abatement outlining a schedule for the implementation of engineering and/or administrative measures to control employee exposure to total dust. The plan shall include, at minimum, target dates for the following actions which must be consistent with abatement dates required by this citations (abatement time 30 days). (1) Evaluation of engineering/administrative control options; (2) Selection of optimum control methods and completion of design; (3) Procurement, installation and operation of selected control measures; and (4) Testing and acceptance or modification/redesign of controls. NOTE: All proposed control measure shall be approved for each particular use by a competent industrial hygienist or other technically qualified person. Ninety (90) day progress reports are required during the abatement period. Abatement period: 60 days STEP 3: Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation of feasible engineering and/or administrative controls upon verification of their effectiveness in achieving compliance Abatement time: 90 days.