MEC&F Expert Engineers : 04/09/15

Thursday, April 9, 2015

WOOD CRATE MANUFACTURER FAILS TO PROTECT WORKERS PROPERLY FROM EXCESSIVE NOISE, HAND INJURIES, DUST HAZARDS AND OTHER RISKS. PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES FACE POTENTIAL HARM AMID REPEATED VIOLATIONS



APRIL 9, 2015

ADAIRSVILLE, GEORGIA

An inspection of a wood crate manufacturer found that permanent and temporary employees faced excessive noise, improper hand protection and respiratory irritation due to wood dust exposure at the North American Container Corp. in Adairsville. The company makes crates and corrugated boxes for lawn and garden products, such as all-terrain vehicles, tractors, lawn mowers and blowers. Headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, North American Container has eight other production facilities in Georgia, Wisconsin, Tennessee and South Carolina.

                 Georgia-based North American Container's Adairsville facility


After a complaint, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration began an inspection in October 2014 and identified eight safety and health violations, with proposed penalties of $59,400. 

"North American Container puts workers at risk of serious injury or illness by disregarding OSHA safety and health standards," said Christi Griffin, director of OSHA's Atlanta-West Area Office. "The repeated violations cited in this inspection show the employer's lack of commitment to protect employees from workplace hazards."

OSHA issued four repeated citations to the container manufacturer for lacking an emergency action plan; failing to anchor a drill press to the floor securely; not providing employee training on the hazards of inhalation of wood dust; and failing to give workers Appendix D of the respirator standard. A repeated violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. North American Container was cited for these same violations in 2010 and 2014.

Four serious violations include equipping exit doors with sliding locks that could prohibit employees from leaving the facility quickly; not providing proper hand protection; failing to establish a noise testing program; and not training employees on the hazards of excessive noise levels.

A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

North American Container employs temporary workers through staffing agencies TRP Partners LLC, in Dalton, and Flexible Staffing, in Cartersville. North American provides training and oversight for its temporary employees, so OSHA did not cite the staffing agencies after this inspection. 

OSHA has inspected North American Container four times since 2010. The company received citations for noise exposure, respirator protection and proper installation of guards to protect users from operating machine parts.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Atlanta-West Area Office at 678-903-7301.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/.

Beacon Industries Inc. exposes employees to mechanical, electrical and other hazards at Newington, Conn., manufacturing plant. Aircraft engine manufacturer faces $71.1K in OSHA fines for 18 violations

April 9, 2015

Employer name: Beacon Industries Inc., an aircraft engine and parts manufacturer, headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

Inspection site: 549 Cedar St., Newington, Connecticut 06111

Date inspection initiated: The inspection began Oct. 21, 2014, in response to a complaint.

Investigation findings: OSHA found plant employees exposed to potential lacerations, crushing injuries, amputation, electrocution and ventilation hazards. 

Specific hazards included inadequate training and lack of protective equipment for employees required to perform live troubleshooting on electrical equipment; missing or inadequate safeguards to prevent employees from coming into contact with the operating parts of machines; failure to conduct required inspections and provide safeguarding for a mechanical power press; absent or inadequate procedures to prevent the unintended startup of machinery during servicing; lack of inspections to ensure adequate airflow in a ventilation system; a padlocked exit door; and incorrect lifting capacity labels for forktrucks. 

As a result of these conditions, OSHA cited Beacon Industries Inc. for 18 serious violations of workplace safety standards.

Proposed Penalties: $71,100

Quote: "Our inspection identified a sizable number of violations of workplace safety standards that should not have existed in the first place. Beacon Industries needs to promptly and effectively address these conditions and show us what steps it will take to prevent them from occurring again," said Warren Simpson, OSHA's area director in Hartford. 

Next: Beacon Industries Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet informally with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. 

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742), or the agency's Hartford Area Office at 860-240-3152.

TYPICAL TANKER TRUCK ROLLOVER CRASH: DRIVER GOES TOO FAST TO NEGOTIATE THE CURVE. 1 DRIVER DIES IN KANSAS WHEN HIS TANKER TRUCK ROLLS OVER AND BURSTS INTO MASSIVE FLAMES.









APRIL 8, 2015

MCPHERSON, KANSAS

Troopers have identified the driver of a tanker truck who died when the semi rolled over and burst into flames.

It happened shortly after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday near K-61 and K-153 on the southwest side of the city of McPherson near NCRA. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the truck was southbound on K-153 but was going too fast to negotiate the curve. The tanker struck the median, rolled across the northbound lanes into the east ditch and burst into flames.

Investigators said the truck was hauling diesel fuel or home heating oil. McPherson firefighters let the fire burn off until it was safer to approach.

Once the fire was extinguished, they found a man dead inside. He's been identified as 48-year-old John Douglas Schrock of Hesston.

Source:ksn.com/kake.com

Coast Guard crews, good Samaritans respond to mayday call from a sinking fishing vessel near Yaquina Bay, Oregon


d13WARRENTON, OREGON

Coast Guard crews and good Samaritans responded to a mayday call and aided the crew of a sinking 32-foot fishing vessel 20 miles southwest of Yaquina Bay, Wednesday.

A 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay in Newport escorted the fishing vessel Apache 4 to Yaquina Bay after multiple crews worked to identify the source of the flooding, secure it and dewater the vessel.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend received a mayday call over VHF-FM channel 16 from the two fishermen around 8:42 p.m., reporting the vessel was taking on water and sinking.

The MLB crew and MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station North Bend and Coast Guard Air Facility Newport were launched in response, while the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Orcas was diverted from their nearby patrol. Good Samaritans aboard the fishing vessels Kristina and Silver Quest also responded to an urgent marine information broadcast issued by Sector North Bend watchstanders.

Once on scene the air facility Dolphin crew transferred a dewatering pump to the vessel using their rescue swimmer. The source of the flooding was identified as an open discharged valve and secured. The MLB crew assisted with dewatering the vessel and escorted them safely to Yaquina Bay where they conducted a post search and rescue boarding. No injuries were reported. 

“The swift actions and combined efforts of our local mariners and various Coast Guard assets, were able to address the situation at hand quickly and safely without injury, the loss of life or loss of property,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Coulter Perkins, a watchstander at Sector North Bend. “We value our close partnerships with more than just local agencies, but also the mariner community.”

Weather conditions on scene were reportedly seas up to 4-feet, 12 mph winds and a visibility of 5 miles.

Coast Guard issues civil penalty to Bremerton ferry jumper


d13SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

The Captain of the Port, Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound, issued a $5,000 civil penalty, Friday, to a Washington State Ferry passenger who intentionally jumped overboard prior to the vessel departure from the Bremerton ferry terminal.

On March 21, an adult male passenger aboard the Washington State Ferry Kaleetan intentionally jumped overboard, sustained significant injuries and was recovered by ferry crewmembers aboard a rescue boat.

“Crewmembers are responsible for passenger safety, and in this case, their attention was diverted away from the safe operation of the vessel,” said Chief Warrant Officer Brian Hennessy, a member of the investigations and inspections division at Sector Puget Sound. “Fortunately for the person in the water, Washington State Ferry crewmembers are highly trained, and were able to swiftly recover the person, while keeping the remaining passengers safe.”

Rail jumping, or an attempt to enter the water without permission of the vessel’s captain, interferes with the safe operation of a vessel and is subject to a maximum civil penalty of $30,000. 

The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998 amended 46 USC 2302(a) by adding “or interfering with the safe operation of a vessel, so as to endanger” the life, limb or property of a person. While the previous version of the statute only allowed an operator to be charged, this amendment provided the Coast Guard the ability to pursue a civil penalty against any individual that interfered with the safe operation of a vessel.

An example of such interference includes instances where a passenger intentionally jumps off a commercial vessel that is not intended to support water activities.

THERE GOES ENGLISH BAY: BUNKER FUEL SPILL IN VANCOUVER, CANADA WASHES UP ON OUR BEACHES









APRIL 9, 2015

The toxic bunker fuel that has spilled in Vancouver's English Bay has washed up on the city's popular beach in Kitsilano.

Vancouver police told CBC News that oil has washed up on the shore at Kits Beach, where there are visible clumps.


The spill has spreading as a grimy sheen on the water, and it may push the oil to shore in Burrard Inlet, the city tweeted.

Update: The substance spilled in Burrard Inlet is bunker fuel. Boater & watercraft alert: fuel is toxic, do not touch. #VanFuelSpill

Clean-up efforts are underway by the Canadian Coast Guard and West Coast Marine Response Corporation, using long orange booms on the surface of the water, said Port Metro Vancouver.


Bunker fuel leaks from the bulk carrier cargo ship Marathassa, anchored near Vancouver's downtown port terminal, on April 9, 2015. The fuel spilled into English Bay Wednesday night is toxic and should not be touched, the City of Vancouver warns. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

The clean-up is being overseen by Transport Canada under the National Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime.

Oil spreading to shore
The oil has already reached the sandy beach at the foot of Denman and Davie streets in Vancouver's West End, reported CBC's Farrah Merali.
A video posted by a Twitter user this morning of the north side of English Bay, near the edge of Stanley Park, shows what appears to be an oily substance at the water's edge.

Oil slick in English Bay now. pic.twitter.com/pEGXZcNaWT

Grain ship possible source of fuel leak

The coast guard's environmental response team was dispatched to the spill yesterday.

The spill is surrounding a grain ship — named MARATHASSA — anchored in deep water off Vancouver, said John Parker-Jervis, a spokesman for Port Metro Vancouver.

"There was a fair amount of product — what appears to be fuel, oil for the ships, around a particular grain carrier," Parker-Jervis said. As a precaution a boom has been constructed around the ship in an attempt to contain the fuel, though the ship isn't yet confirmed as the source, he said.

Five vessels currently surround the ship.

The ship was in the process of loading grain. There is no evidence of fuel spilled between the grain terminal and where the ship is currently anchored, Parker-Jervis said.

There is no estimate on the amount of fuel that has been spilled
What is bunker fuel?

Bunker fuel, also known as residual fuel oil, is the fuel that powers commercial shipping

The toxic spill in Vancouver's English Bay has been identified as bunker fuel, otherwise known as residual fuel oil.

According to the oil industry's material data sheets, the oil is a complex blend of hydrocarbons derived from various refinery streams, usually residue from the oil refinery processes. It is recommended for use in marine diesel engines, boilers, furnaces and other combustion equipment.

The safety data sheet recorded by Shell Marine Fuel Oil in 2013, lists a number of hazards associated with the combustible material, including the possible presence of hydrogen sulphide, which is not only harmful if inhaled, but has a vapour that can also be trapped in clothing.

The list of possible effects are listed as:

Harmful if inhaled

  • Suspected of damaging fertility or the unborn child
  • May cause damage to organs or organ systems through prolonged or repeated exposure
  • May cause cancer
  • The fuel is also, according to Shell's data, extremely dangerous for the marine environment.
  • Very toxic to aquatic life
  • Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects

Source: www.cbc.ca

CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION FINES PG&E $1.6 BILLION FOR SAN BRUNO, CALIFORNIA DEADLY EXPLOSION THAT KILLED 8 AND INJURED DOZENS











APRIL 9, 2015

A PG&E gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno on Sept. 9, 2010. The explosion killed eight people, injured dozens and destroyed or damaged about 100 homes.

The California Public Utilities Commission voted today to fine Pacific, Gas & Electric Co. $1.6 billion in penalties for its role in the September 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people, injured dozens and destroyed or damaged about 100 homes.

The new penalty is $200 million more than an earlier internal recommendation by the San Francisco-based agency's administrative law judges assigned to the case. Along with earlier penalties related to the San Bruno incident, the total fines imposed on PG&E now exceed $2.2 billion.

CPUC President Michael Picker, who took office in late December, replacing disgraced former President Michael Peevey, described the penalty as one of the largest ever levied on a utility company nationally.

PSE&G, watch out.