Text For Citation: 02 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: UNAPEQUIP

Code of Virginia, 40.1-51.1A: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which was free from recognized hazards that were likely to cause death or serious physical harm in that: Employees, with the knowledge of supervisory personnel, regularly tested used underground storage tanks for the presence of combustible gas or vapors by removing plugs and sniffing the tanks. On February 18, 1997, two employees were cutting a tank that had previously contained gasoline when the tank exploded, killing one employee and seriously injuring the other. The employees had not tested the tank with a combustible gas indicator before they began cutting it, as required by the employer's standard operating procedures for tank demolition. Employer representatives were aware of the hazardous condition, but failed to take corrective action. One feasible and acceptable method to correct this hazard is to ensure that all tanks are tested with a properly calibrated combustible gas indicator immediately prior to cutting.