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

Section 5(a)(1) of Public Law 91-596, 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: a violent spray of steam, condensate, fire and boiler parts during the explosion of a recovery boiler due to employer's failure to develop written boiler set-up and operating procedures and a program of operator training specific to the modified-natural-draft method, which would preclude the possibility of an unsafe fuel/air ratio inside the boiler's furnace. (a)International Paper - Vicksburg Mill, 3737 Highway 3 North, Redwood, MS 39156, Power Plant - On or about Saturday, May 3, 2008 while re-starting the mill's black liquor recovery boiler after an annual outage employees working around the boiler were exposed to a violent explosion. The boiler was being re-fired under modified- natural-draft conditions using natural gas as fuel but without adequate written set-up and operating procedures having been communicated to the boiler operators, or enough steam to supply the motive power to turn the auxiliary fans used to create normal combustion- draft conditions in the furnace. Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard is to comply with National Fire Protection Association's NFPA 85, Boiler and Combustion Systems Hazards Code, 2007 Edition to develop written boiler set-up and operating procedures and a program of operator training, specific to the modified-natural-draft start-up method which would preclude the possibility of an unsafe fuel/air ratio inside the boiler's furnace.