Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 003 Hazard:

29 CFR 1910.146(d)(5)(ii): Under the permit-required confined space program required by 29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4), the employer did not evaluate permit space conditions when entry operations were conducted by testing or monitoring the permit space as necessary: The employer is failing to protect employees from fire/explosion hazards created by hazardous vapors produced by ethyl alcohol denatured with natural gasoline, and sweet crude oil while employees are cleaning inside rail tank cars. This was most recently documented in the workplace located at and around 280 Pierce Street, Omaha, NE 68108 on or about January 23rd, 2017 through March 16th, 2017. The atmospheric conditions inside the railcars are not monitored continuously throughout confined space entries for the duration when employees are inside, and there is a likelihood that the percent of lower explosive limit can rapidly elevate above the maximum allowed ten percent within the 15 minute interval that the employer has elected to sample inside the railcars.