OSHA Inspection: FMC CORPORATION

Issued

2008-10-27 00:00:00

Abate by

2008-11-04 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $2625.00 · Current $2625.00

Issued

2008-10-27 00:00:00

Abate by

2009-04-28 00:00:00

General-duty citation text

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 the hazard of, among other things, convulsions and
respiratory failure due to
excessive exposure to carbofuran:
a) Building 70 - On or about 05/20/08, A Packer was exposed to carbofuran
at a
Time-Weighted Average (TWA) concentration of 0.33 mg/m3, approximately 3.3
times the accepted limit of 0.1mg/m3 established by the National Institute
of
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienist (ACGIH).  The exposure calculations are
based
on results obtained over 358 minutes of sampling with zero increment used
for the
122 minutes not sampled.
b) Building 70 - On or about 05/20/08, A Lead Operator was exposed to
carbofuran
at a Time-Weighted Average (TWA) concentration of 1.1 mg/m3, approximately
11
times the accepted limit of 0.1mg/m3 established by the National Institute
of
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienist (ACGIH).  The exposure calculations are
based
on results obtained over 353 minutes of sampling with zero increment used
for the
127 minutes not sampled.
Feasible methods to correct this hazard includes utilization of local
exhaust ventilation on
the packing unit and utilizing a HEPA vacuum for cleaning surfaces,
including finished
bags of carbofuran products.
STEP 1:EFFECTIVE RESPIRATORY PROTECTION SHALL BE PROVIDED AND USED BY
EXPOSED EMPLOYEES AS AN INTERIM PROTECTIVE MEASURE UNTIL
FEASIBLE ENGINEERING AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS CAN BE
IMPLEMENTED, OR WHENEVER SUCH CONTROLS FAIL TO REDUCE EMPLOYEE
EXPOSURE TO WITHIN PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE LIMITS.
STEP 2:SUBMIT TO THE AREA DIRECTOR A WRITTEN, DETAILED PLAN OF
ABATEMENT OUTLINING A SCHEDULE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
ENGINEERING AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES TO CONTROL EMPLOYEE
EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES AS REFERENCED IN THIS CITATION.
THIS PLAN SHALL INCLUDE, AT A MINIMUM, TARGET DATES FOR THE
FOLLOWING ACTIONS WHICH MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE ABATEMENT
DATES REQUIRED BY THIS  CITATION:
(1)  EVALUATION OF ENGINEERING/ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL OPTIONS;
(2)  SELECTION OF OPTIMUM CONTROL METHODS AND COMPLETION OF
DESIGN;
(3)  PROCUREMENT, INSTALLATION AND OPERATION OF SELECTED CONTROL
MEASURES; AND
(4)  TESTING AND ACCEPTANCE OR MODIFICATION/REDESIGN OF CONTROLS.NOTE:
ALL PROPOSED CONTROL MEASURES SHALL BE APPROVED FOR EACH
PARTICULAR USE BY A COMPETENT INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST OR OTHER TECHNICALLY
QUALIFIED PERSON.  SIXTY (60) DAY PROGRESS REPORTS ARE REQUIRED DURING THE
ABATEMENT PERIOD.
STEP 3:ABATEMENT SHALL HAVE BEEN COMPLETED BY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
FEASIBLE ENGINEERING AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS UPON
VERIFICATION OF THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN ACHIEVING COMPLIANCE.
ABATEMENT DOCUMENTATION REQUIREDATION