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

Section 5(a)(1) of 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 the hazards of being burned due to the ignition of pyrotechnic shells: At the fireworks barge #D930687, on or about 07-03-97, five employees were exposed to the hazards of being burned due to the unexpected detonation of eight-inch pyrotechnic shells from improperly separated mortars of comparable size. One employee was using a road flare to manually discharge shells from mortars contained in three plastic 55-gallon drums. Each drum possessed a 22-inch diameter and contained three mortars apiece. Seven eight- inch mortars and two ten-inch mortars were held in the upright position by the three plastic 55-gallon drums. These mortar tubes were not separated from the drum walls by a minimum of five inches. The hazards of mortar displacement and lack of protection to guard against a premature shell detonation inside the tube existed. One method of abatement to correct these apparent hazards is to arrange the individual mortar tubes so that they are separated from the drum walls by a minimum of five inches as required by NFPA 1123, paragraph 2-3.3.3.2. DISCLAIMER: a) The employer is not limited to the abatement method(s) suggested by OSHA. b) The employer is responsible for selecting and implementing an effective abatement method. ***THIS ITEM REQUIRES A WRITTEN CERTIFICATION OF ABATEMENT***