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

29 CFR 1910.421(d): Planning and assessment. Planning of a diving operation shall include an assessment of the safety and health aspects of the following: 29 CFR 1910.421(d)(2): Surface and underwater conditions and hazards; a. On or about October 11, 2014 through October 14, 2014, located at the Discover Financial Services' north retention pond, employees were performing surface-supplied diving operations in order to remove the muck from the bottom of a pond by means of a suction hose that was connected to a trash pump. The employer did not conduct an adequate assessment of the underwater conditions while employees working in close proximity to underwater differential pressure flow from a six inch suction hose in 0% visibility water with only two divers at the dive location. The lack of an assessment with a standby diver exposed the divers to a drowning hazard in 10-12 feet deep water. b. On or about November 11, 2014, located at the Discover Financial Services' south retention pond, employees were performing SCUBA diving operations in order to remove the muck from the bottom of a pond by means of a suction hose that was connected to a trash pump. The employer did not conduct an adequate assessment of the underwater conditions while employees were working in close proximity to underwater differential pressure flow from a six inch suction hose in 0% visibility with only two divers at the dive location, thereby exposing the divers to a drowning hazard in 10-12 feet deep water. U.S. Aqua Vac, Inc. was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard 1910.421(d)(2) which was contained in OSHA inspection number 313893406, citation number 1, item number 3 and was affirmed as a final order on May 20, 2010, with respect to a workplace located at 1 Baxter Parkway, Deerfield, IL 60015.