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

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: (a)Prior to the incident which occurred on or about January 17, 1997, the employer failed to implement an accurate means of identifying compressed gas cylinder contents before decommissioning a cylinder as recommended by the Compressed Gas Association. A feasible and useful means of abatement includes, but is not limited to the following actions: 1.Determine the origin, age and potential for contamination. Support this information with external characteristics such as cylinder, valve type and labeling. 2.Identification through sampling and analysis of the cylinder contents. 3.Handle each cylinder assuming worst-case scenario (as if the contents are shock sensitive, explosive, poisonous, strong oxidizers and/or incompatible mixture).