UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard:

OSH ACT of 1970 Section 5(a)(1): 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 associated with the manufacturing of a chlorine dioxide generator chemical product: On or about November 11, 2020 employees in the PV Room and in the areas surrounding the PV Room were exposed to fire and explosion hazards associated with the manufacturing of a chlorine dioxide generator chemical product: (a) The manufacturing process utilized mixing/blending equipment capable of producing friction despite the employer having information that a combination of ingredient used to manufacture PureVista results in a friction sensitive material, and if formed in a dense cloud, a potential hazard if subjected to an ignition source caused by friction. (b) The manufacturing process utilized mixing/blending equipment capable of producing an internal dust cloud. (c) The manufacturing process mixed potentially incompatible chemicals, thus presenting a hazard. Abatement documentation is required for this item in accordance with the requirements of 29 CFR 1903.19(d). Among other methods, feasible methods of abatement include heeding the applicable warnings available to the employer through externally developed ingredient Safety Data Sheets (SDSs), the internally developed product SDS, the EPA pesticide master label for the product, and internally developed production procedures in order to develop and implement a production process that: (1) Avoids or protects against the hazard of oxidizer ignition from friction when incorporated with organic material, (2) Avoids or protects against the hazard of dust cloud formation in the presence of potential ignition sources such as friction and/or static electricity, and (3) Avoids or protects against the hazards of mixing potentially incompatible chemicals. Perform a process hazard analysis (PHA) / dust hazard analysis (DHA) utilizing recognized risk assessment techniques such as those found in ANSI/ASSP 2690.3 "Risk Assessment Techniques", NFPA 652 "Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust", and NFPA 654 "Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Pa11iculate Solids" in order to develop a manufacturing process free from or adequately controlling recognized hazards. Consider production processes and technologies that may include, but are not limited to, concepts such as: low energy mixing/blending processes, equipment bonding/grounding, explosion relief venting for rooms and building components, explosion protection on processing equipment, appropriate dust collection systems, etc.