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Previous by Date: Subject: Re: Unknown Hazardous Chemical Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 10:41:03 -0600 Author: "Clark, Richard C" |
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h ttp://www.reliableplant.com/article.aspx?articleid=22096&pagetitle=Hou ston+company+faces+%241.47M+fine+following+fatal+explosion Houston company faces $1.47M fine following fatal explosion RP news wires The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on January 4 issued CES Environmental Services Inc. willful and serious citations after an investigation into a fatal explosion at the company's Griggs Road facility in Houston. Proposed penalties total $1,477,500. In July 2009, an employee cleaning a tank was killed in an explosion when an altered piece of equipment ignited flammable vapors inside the tank. The fatality was the third death in less than a year at this employer's facilities; two hydrogen sulfide exposure-related deaths at a related facility, Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services LLC (PACES), occurred in December 2008 and April 2009. "Proper precaution prevents deaths," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Employers should take steps to eliminate hazards and provide a safe working environment for their workers. That is the law." Based on the most recent investigation, OSHA has issued 15 willful citations with proposed penalties totaling $1,050,000, alleging that 15 pieces of electrical equipment were unsafe to use in the tank wash area due to the presence of flammable and combustible vapors. Two additional willful citations with proposed penalties totaling $125,000 have been issued. One alleges that CES failed to ventilate tanks in which employees were working, exposing the workers to toxic atmospheric hazards. The other alleges that CES stored flammable and reactive chemicals together, which posed fire and explosion hazards. In addition, OSHA has issued 54 serious violations with proposed penalties totaling $302,500. These include allegations that CES failed to implement all aspects of the process safety management standard; provide proper respiratory protection, confined space rescue equipment and adequate fall protection; properly install and maintain boiler equipment; implement an emergency response plan, and adequate energy control procedures; train powered industrial truck operators; guard and to anchor machinery adequately; store compressed gas cylinders safely; and label hazardous chemicals. A willful citation is characterized by an employer's intentional disregard of the standards or plain indifference to employee safety and health. A violation is characterized as serious when death or serious physical harm could result if an accident were to occur as the result of a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. OSHA previously cited PACES following the December 18, 2008, and the April 14, 2009, fatalities and proposed penalties of $16,600 and $207,800, respectively. Both of those fatalities occurred in Port Arthur, Texas. Those citations were contested and are being litigated before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. CES and PACES together employ 155 workers. CES has 15 business days from receipt of the latest citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent review commission. Please reference this article as: RP news wires, "Houston company faces $1.47M fine following fatal explosion". Reliable Plant Magazine. / === Canada Langford Fire Rescue to test high-pressure spray device If the circumstance calls for it, Langford firefighters are going to throw a fit. Or more precisely they will throw a device called a Fire Interruption Technology (FIT). The Langford department purchased six of the devices with the intent of evaluating them to see if they should become a permanent addition to the firefighter=92s arsenal. =93The FIT is a device that can be thrown into a fire that deploys a chemical that interrupts the fire at the molecular level,=94 said Lieut. Steve Adams. Basically, the device is similar to a fire extinguisher, except it can cover more surface area. Firefighters prime the FIT, and like a grenade, they have a limited amount of time to throw it into a fire. Spraying out high-pressure chemicals, one FIT can smother a fire within 2,000 square feet, Adams said. That means better safety for the firefighter and potentially less damage for the property owner, he added. The FITs could be used in difficult to access fires, Adams said, such as attic or basement blazes. The chemical retardant lowers the heat and intensity of a fire, allowing firefighters to use less water to control the blaze. The combination of less burn time and less water equals less damage for the property owner, Adams said. Langford Fire Rescue learned about the devices at a training expo in the United States and got a deal to test drive them. Normally, the FITs retail for about $2,000. =93To my knowledge, we are the first department on Southern Vancouver Island to implement them,=94 Adams said. reporter**At_Symbol_Here**goldstreamgazette.com
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