Details

Parent Category: Safety Info Posts

Category: Chemical Process Safety (PSM/RMP)

Published: 17 August 2013

On March 8, 2010, the Secretary issued three citations to a refinery, alleging twenty serious, forty-two willful, and three other-than-serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Act), 29 U.S.C. §§ 651, et seq. The Secretary issued the citations following an inspection conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at a refinery in Ohio. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $3,042,000.00 for the three citations. The refinery timely contested the citations. The OSHRC held a nineteen-day hearing in this matter from June 4, 2012, to June 28, 2012. At issue was OSHA's use of a 3rd party report to discover the issues at the refinery, in stark contrast to their Policy on use of "internal audit reports".  The citations involved:

• a missing U-1A form,
• Relief Valve design and sizing (back pressure, missing RVs, and inlet pressure drop issues),
• furnace controls,
• Fire Water cross connections (fire water contamination),
• Facility Siting PHA Recommendations (timely manner), and
• Piping Inspections (not marking the TML in the field).  

Here is a breakdown of the OSHRC decision:

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