Chemical Blast Kills One, Injures Several Others at GM Stamping Plant
Indiana OSHA is investigating a chemical explosion that killed one contractor and injured several other workers at a General Motors stamping plant in Marion, Ind.
GM evacuated the plant after the explosion, which killed 48-year-old James Gibson.
Marion Fire Chief Paul David told the Associated Press that the explosion involved a chlorine dioxide tank, and that the chemical continued spilling out after the blast. According to the Associated Press report:
A hazardous materials crew contained the spill, and firefighters were rinsing off the skin of everyone who may have come into contact with the chemical. If inhaled, the chemical can cause lung problems and can irritate the skin and eyes.
Located about 60 miles north of Indianapolis, GM’s Marion Metal Center employs about 1,600 people and provides blanks, stampings and sheet-metal assembly to other GM factories.
Indiana Glass Maker Agrees to Pay Record Fine Stemming from Workplace Fatality
Glass manufacturer Pilkington North America must pay a state-record $495,000 fine and address a slew of safety hazards as part of an agreement with Indiana OSHA.
The agreement settles four safety orders that Indiana OSHA issued after the Sept. 29, 2010, death of Kelly Dean Caudill, who was crushed while repairing a conveyor at the company’s Shelbyville, Ind., factory. The plant produces glass for the automotive industry.
After the 2010 fatality, Indiana OSHA hit Pilkington with $32,000 in fines – later reduced to $15,000 – for seven safety violations at the Shelbyville plant, according to OSHA records. When state inspectors returned to the factory in March and April 2012, they found that safety problems remained, and Indiana OSHA issued four safety orders carrying $603,000 in total fines.
An inspection in October 2012 turned up six violations – including three willful violations – carrying $231,000 in fines.
As part of its settlement with Indiana OSHA, Pilkington has agreed to complete all mandated safety fixes by Dec. 31. The company, which is a unit of Tokyo-based Nippon Sheet Glass Co., also will post warning signs on or near hazards, provide machine-guarding training for employees and provide dedicated personnel to eliminate all remaining hazards.
Indiana OSHA noted that it will conduct a follow-up inspection to verify that all hazards have been eliminated.
The $495,000 fine is the largest in Indiana OSHA history.
“This agreement stresses the seriousness of the safe operation of production machinery and will create a significantly safer workplace for Pilkington employees, Labor Commissioner Rick Ruble said. “The agreement shows a sincere commitment on the part of Pilkington North America to improve workplace safety.”
OSHA Fines GM $160,000 for Recordkeeping, Safety Violations
OSHA issued two willful citations to GM Powertrain’s Massena, N.Y. plant for failing to record 98 work-related injuries and illnesses, and cited the plant for six serious safety violations, but a GM spokesperson appeared to dismiss the importance of the enforcement action, saying OSHA found “no significant safety violations.”
In addition to $148,000 in penalties for alleged willful recordkeeping violations from 2002 through 2004, such as failing to record work-related hearing losses, the plant received serious citations for a variety of safety hazards, including an obstructed exit route, inadequate guarding of moving machine parts, and the failure to assess the need for personal protective equipment for workers.
The agency issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm are likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. OSHA defines willful violations as those that are committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
“The primary issues raised by OSHA in the Massena citation concern record-keeping and not employee safety,” commented Kyle Johnson, GM Powertrain’s director of communications, in a written statement. “As part of its investigation, OSHA conducted a comprehensive safety inspection at Massena and found no significant safety violations.”
OSHA countered that accurate recordkeeping is essential for protecting workers since it provides the opportunity for timely identification and correction of conditions that can harm workers.
“The significant penalty of $160,000 in this case demonstrates our commitment to protecting the health and safety of American workers,” commented U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.
According to Johnson, the facility corrected the violations OSHA identified that were unrelated to recordkeeping during or soon after the inspection.
In the past, OSHA has cited companies separately for each instance of failing to record injuries and illnesses on the OSHA log, an approach that can lead to far larger penalties. An OSHA spokesperson explained why the agency chose not to use its “egregious” instance-by-instance approach in this case. “We reviewed it, weighed all the facts, and it was close but it just didn’t rise to the level of instance by instance.”
One of the willful citations alleges that from 2003 to 2004, GM Powertrain failed to record 17 cases of work-related hearing loss. The remaining 81 unrecorded cases are lumped together in the second willful citation, and most of these are injuries resulting from repetitive motion and material handling work activities from 2002 to 2004.
Johnson characterized these cases as “employee aches and pains that OSHA has mistakenly attributed to the workplace without considering the nature of the job being performed, which mainly involves handling Stryofoam molds weighing a few grams.
“GM believes its safety program has become a model for manufacturing by emphasizing safety and working jointly with the UAW [United Auto Workers] and our other unions,” Johnson added.
This is the second time this year OSHA has cited the GM Powertrain plant for serious violations. A January OSHA inspection uncovered three serious violations of the Powered Industrial Trucks Standard (1910.178). According to the inspection report, a fourth serious citation fell under OSHA’s General Duty Clause, as the agency alleged “workers were exposed to the hazard of being struck by molten aluminum.”
Under terms of a February informal settlement between GM and OSHA the company agreed to pay a $4,000 fine for these violations.
Both inspections were conducted out of OSHA’s area office in Syracuse, N.Y. Diane Brayden, the area office director, said the more recent citations were issued Sept. 30, giving the company until Oct. 25 to determine whether to settle or contest the enforcement action.
“I’m negotiating with them and working toward a settlement on the safety violations,” said Brayden. “The recordkeeping issues are in a different case file and we haven’t discussed this with them yet.”
OSHA Investigates Pennsylvania Blast that Killed Worker, Injured Others
Sunday was no day of rest for employees at Newstech PA and rescue workers from the Northampton, Pa., area. An explosion Sunday afternoon at Newstech’s paper recycling plant in killed one worker and critically injured two others, prompting an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Tom Doherty of OSHA’s Allentown office said the investigation could take as long as six months. The agency’s goal, he added, “is to determine what happened, what caused it and what could be done in the future to prevent it from happening again.”
Plant management said that around 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, a high-pressure pump unit ruptured at the plant, killing John Thomas Stefano. The Northampton County Coroner, Zachary Lysek, said Stefano died of massive blunt trauma. Stefano worked for FMSC of Bethlehem, Pa., a subcontractor at the site. FMSC employee Edward Kavcak and Newstech employee Joe Yost were life-flighted to the area’s trauma center, Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, where they were listed in critical condition.
Stefano and Kavcak worked for subcontractor FMSC of Bethlehem. Yost worked for Newstech.
According to preliminary reports, Stefano, Yost and Kavcak were standing near the pump when it ruptured, releasing steam with a temperature estimated to be as high as 140 degrees F.
The facility was shut down immediately, with local authorities, OSHA and investigators from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection investigating the cause of the accident. The DEP indicated the incident did not pose an environmental threat.
As for company management, “We are fully cooperating with OSHA and will continue to do so as the cause and circumstances surrounding this incident are thoroughly examined,” said Newstech Vice President Mark Roseborough.
Newstech offered counseling to employees on Monday, following the incident, said Roseborough, who added, “On behalf of the owners and management of the Newstech PA plant in Northampton, I wish to express heartfelt condolences to the family of the man who was killed and to the families of the men who were injured in [the] unfortunate accident”.
Chemical Plant Explosion Kills 1, Injures 71
One fatality has been confirmed and at least 71 workers were injured in the third major explosion in 11 years at the Phillips’ K-Resin plant.
One fatality has been confirmed as a result of an explosion and fire yesterday at Phillips’ K-Resin styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBC) plant, located at the company’s Houston Chemical Complex (HCC) near Pasadena, Texas.
At least 71 workers were injured in the third major explosion at the factory in the past 11 years.
At a press conference last night, Jim Ross, HCC general manager, said 32 Phillips employees and 39 contract employees were sent to area hospitals. As of this morning, 16 have been released.
Search crews discovered the body of a missing employee five hours after the early afternoon blast. The name of the dead worker was not released.
Reportedly, huge flames erupted after the 1:22 p.m. blast, sending a massive column of black smoke upward and spurring area school officials to seal their buildings and keep children inside as the precaution against the possibility of toxic fumes.
The fire was finally extinguished shortly before 5 p.m. Phillips officials said their monitors found no sign of danger to the public.
An outside environmental contractor found no hazardous airborne contaminants leaving the plant.
All of HCC is being shut down. However, Phillips expects to resume polyethylene and polypropylene production in the next few days.
The cause of the blast — the fourth at the plant in the past 12 months — has not yet been determined.
The facility has an infamous safety record.
The K-Resin section is where an explosion killed two workers and injured four others in June 1999, but Phillips officials said Monday that they did not know whether both explosions involved the same reactor. That section contains four reactors.
Phillips was fined $204,000 by OSHA for 13 alleged safety violations following the June explosion.
“We are very closely monitoring this event from a remote location,” Ray Skinner of OSHA told The Houston Chronicle. “As soon as it is safe to enter we will.”
The Phillips complex also had explosions in April 1999, when a rail car containing polypropylene blew up, and in August, when there was an explosion in the polypropylene section of the plant.
The complex also was the site of a devastating explosion in October 1989 that killed 23 workers and injured about 130.
Approximately 850 Phillips employees and about 100 subcontractors work at the complex.
Officials said about 600 workers were on duty when yesterday’s blast occurred.
“I was in the main shop area when I heard a loud explosion,” said Tim Williams, a plant worker who estimated he was more than 200 yards away from the explosion. “My ears hurt, and I took off running. I looked back and saw flames, and kept going.”
Workers in neighboring plants and residents in the area were urged to remain indoors. Smoke continued to rise two hours after the blast, and was clearly visible across Houston.
For more information or assistance with your environmental and health & safety (EHS) regulatory compliance needs, contact Ralph Carito at Total Environmental & Safety, LLC (Total) at rcarito@TotalEnviron.com or 908-442-8599.