Don't rely on shelved response plans in an actual emergency.
The inspections followed the agency’s April 26 directive order telling employers throughout the province they must implement an effective combustible dust control program based on a hazard assessment.
One worker died and another was hospitalized from exposure to the chemical toluene at the company’s Theresa, Wis., manufacturing plant on Nov. 29.
The chemical in this case was anhydrous ammonia, which is used in the plant's refrigeration system.
Industries continue to become more technology driven, with a heightened need for electronic components on the plant floor. Those working around energized equipment must be prepared for increased arc flash dangers.
At this year's big customer show in Orlando, Grainger CEO Jim Ryan introduced a new mobile website to make online ordering from the company's catalog of 900,000 products even easier and faster.
The fire, which started in the pellet mill, was transported through several conveying systems to a pellet cooler and then to a dust collector, and caused several other flash fires.
The video features a computer animation showing how hot work being conducted on top of a tank led to a deadly explosion that killed one contractor and injured another.
OSHA has cited Knowlton Manufacturing Co. for three willful, one repeat, and six serious violations in connection with the November 2011 injury.
Two maintenance employees conducting welding operations sustained serious burns to their upper bodies as the result of an explosion within a dust collector at the company's Steeleville, Ill., pasta manufacturing plant.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 took effect April 6. The changes concern recordkeeping, notification, and ultimately medical surveillance for non-licensed work.
Posted March 30, it stems from the March 23 death of a coal mine shuttle car operator at an Alabama mine.
Three repeat health violations involve failing to mark chemical containers with their contents and hazardous warning labels, as well as to provide an emergency eyewash station for employees working with corrosive chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite and anhydrous ammonia.
OSHA opened an inspection at the Gainesville, Ga., plant after receiving a complaint in September about safety hazards. Proposed penalties total $187,100.
OSHA found numerous instances of unguarded moving machine parts and electrical hazards, including failing to train employees in electric safety-related work practices.
OSHA's Birmingham Area Office initiated an inspection Sept. 12 in response to the fatality. The willful violation is failing to install guards to prevent access to the rotating and moving parts of a pre-plate boring machine used to drill holes into railroad ties.
Suzanne Hart, 41, died on Dec. 14, 2011, as she was entering elevator number 9 at 285 Madison Ave. and it accelerated upward with its doors open. Two city departments have suspended the license of the elevator maintenance firm.
The explosion occurred when a pressure vessel containing compressed gas, including oxygen and hydrogen, exploded while the two workers were transferring hydrogen and oxygen gas from one cylinder to another.
After receiving a complaint, OSHA opened an inspection focused on the agency's process safety management standard for facilities that use hazardous chemicals. Proposed fines total $76,500.