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Parent Category: Safety Info Posts

Category: PSM and RMP Citations/Analysis

Published: 04 November 2016

OSHA found multiple safety violations at an ethanol refinery expansion project after a 38-year-old pipefitter suffered fatal burn injuries when ethanol spilled from a process pipe he was working on and was ignited by flames from nearby welding operations.  On Nov. 1, 2016, OSHA issued five serious safety violations to the worker's employer, the project's construction contractor. Inspectors determined the contractor allowed welding work to occur without verifying that the area was free of flammable liquids.  OSHA cited the refinery operator and owner for three serious violations of OSHA's process safety management standards including failing to ensure the process pipe being removed did not contain ethanol. Investigators determined the pipefitter was removing a vent line on the sixth floor of the refinery's distillation building on May 6, 2016, when the incident occurred. As he detached a nine-foot segment of this line, 190-proof ethanol spilled onto him, flowed through the grated flooring, and ignited on the fourth floor due to the welding operations occurring there. The resulting fire engulfed the worker, causing fatal injuries that led to his death the following day.  Here are the citations:

NOTE: this is the first 1926.64 Citations (Construction PSM Standard) that I am aware of being issued in 24 years!

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