thesynergist | NEWSWATCH
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EPA Addresses Legacy Uses and Disposal of Asbestos
In November, EPA finalized the second part of its asbestos risk evaluation, supplementing the first part, which was completed in 2020. While the first part addressed only ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos, the new document evaluates risk to human health and the environment associated with legacy uses of asbestos, disposal of asbestos from legacy uses, uses of asbestos types other than chrysotile, and use of asbestos-containing talc.
Legacy uses of asbestos are those with no ongoing manufacture, processing, or commercial distribution in the United States, but which may still cause asbestos exposures due to continued use or disposal. Potential legacy uses of asbestos include in floor and ceiling tiles, pipe wraps, insulation, and other building materials found in older homes. Non-chrysotile forms of asbestos include the five types of amphibole asbestos, which have needle-like rather than curly fibers. In the new evaluation, EPA has determined that disturbing and handling asbestos in legacy uses, as well as asbestos as a chemical substance, poses “unreasonable risk to human health.”
Use of asbestos was formerly widespread in building materials and manufacturing processes. Chronic inhalation exposures to asbestos are associated with severe health effects such as mesothelioma and lung, ovarian, and laryngeal cancers. Chrysotile asbestos was the only form of asbestos known to be imported, processed, or distributed for use in the United States until March 2024, when EPA finalized a rule banning all ongoing uses of the substance.
In the risk evaluation for chrysotile asbestos, the agency had determined that continued use of the substance presented unreasonable risk to human health, including to workers and occupational non-users. In November 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families v. EPA that the agency should not have excluded legacy uses of asbestos and associated disposals or other forms of asbestos from its risk evaluation. To comply with the court ruling, EPA produced the second part of its asbestos risk evaluation.
The new document explains that legacy uses of asbestos in building materials do not cause exposures if left undisturbed. Exposures may occur when asbestos-containing materials are disturbed during construction, modification, or demolition by construction workers or do-it-yourself remodelers. Firefighters may also be exposed to asbestos fibers when they enter buildings containing asbestos during emergencies. EPA found that legacy uses of asbestos in construction and building materials and products, as well as in furnishing, cleaning, and treatment care products and their disposal, “significantly contribute to the unreasonable risk of cancer and non-cancer health effects.”
Part two of the asbestos risk evaluation determines that the risk of severe health effects is unacceptable for all asbestos types and uses, including those covered in part one. EPA explains in the Federal Register notice announcing the availability of part two that the agency considers a single risk determination appropriate “because there are benchmark exceedances for multiple conditions of use” of the chemical throughout its life cycle, from manufacturing to disposal.
Part two of EPA’s asbestos risk evaluation is available as a PDF. For more information, including many supplementary documents, visit the EPA website. The first part of the risk evaluation covering chrysotile can also be downloaded from the agency's website.
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NIOSH Addresses Respirator Selection in Healthcare
A fact sheet published by NIOSH in November explains the types of respirators available to healthcare workers and considerations for selecting the appropriate device. Respirators approved for healthcare use include filtering facepiece, elastomeric half-mask, and powered air-purifying respirators. The fact sheet emphasizes that respirator selection should account for the device’s protection factor, which is the level of protection the wearer can expect to receive when the device is properly fitted and worn; its filter classification, which indicates its degree of oil resistance and its filtration efficiency; and its ability to protect against gases and vapors.
The fact sheet also includes a table that identifies the advantages and limitations of each type of device and elements for employers to consider when implementing a respiratory protection program.
Download the fact sheet from the NIOSH website (PDF).
Download the fact sheet from the NIOSH website (PDF).
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OSHA Highlights Asphyxiation, Cryogenic Hazards of Flash-Freezing Operations
An OSHA hazard alert focuses attention on flash-freezing processes that release liquid nitrogen and carbon dioxide, which present asphyxiation and cryogenic hazards for workers. The alert follows several agency investigations of fatal incidents involving nitrogen and carbon dioxide releases from flash freezers.
OSHA explains that spiral and immersion freezers use nitrogen or carbon dioxide in solid, liquid, and vapor forms to rapidly freeze food products. But if equipment failure causes carbon dioxide or nitrogen to spill out into the work area, high concentrations of these substances can displace oxygen in the air, asphyxiating workers. OSHA’s hazard alert outlines precautions employers should take to help protect workers during flash-freezing operations.
Alarms to detect an oxygen-deficient atmosphere and emergency ventilation systems that can vent nitrogen and carbon dioxide releases are among the equipment employers can use to control these hazards. According to OSHA, employers must also train workers on emergency response and how to safely evacuate in case of a release.
The agency alert also describes appropriate personal protective equipment to protect workers from respiratory and cryogenic hazards. For example, workers should have access to cryogenic gloves and respiratory protection such as a self-contained breathing apparatus. A combination full-facepiece pressure-demand supplied-air respirator with an auxiliary self-contained air supply would also be protective in this scenario, OSHA notes.
The hazard alert is available as a PDF from OSHA’s website.
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IRSST Updates Guidance for Hand-Held Pneumatic Tool Use
The Canadian occupational health and safety research center IRSST has updated its fact sheet on protecting users of hand-held pneumatic tools from hazardous noise and vibration. The fact sheet provides charts depicting ranges of noise and vibration generated by tools commonly used in auto repair shops as well as controls recommended by IRSST.
By measuring noise levels near the ears of mechanics in real-world working conditions, IRSST determined that sanders, ratchet wrenches, die grinders, impact wrenches, and air hammers may all generate noise levels exceeding Quebec’s amended noise exposure limits. For these tools, IRSST recommends that users consider adding silencers to tools or obtaining models already equipped with silencers to reduce noise exposures. For air hammers, however, silencers are not as useful because “the main source of noise comes from the tool’s impact on the part being worked on,” the fact sheet states.
IRSST tested vibration exposures for pneumatic hand-held tools against limits set by the European Union: 5 meters per second squared (m/s2) for eight hours, 7 m/s2 for four hours, and 10 m/s2 for two hours. Sanders, ratchet wrenches, die grinders, impact wrenches, and air hammers may all generate vibration exposures above these levels.
The fact sheet also includes a list of administrative controls and personal protective equipment that may limit occupational noise and vibration exposures. These include using hearing protection, changing accessories such as grinding wheels and chisels before they become worn, and applying acoustic treatments to work areas.
The fact sheet is available in both English and French.
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NIOSH Will No Longer Post Model-Specific Donning Instructions for FFRs
NIOSH announced in November that model-specific donning instructions for NIOSH-approved filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) would soon be removed from the website of the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL). The change is occurring as NPPTL transitions its website to a new platform. Donning instructions for FFRs that were already posted to the NPPTL website were expected to remain available until the new website is launched, but the agency will not post instructions for new NIOSH-approved FFRs.
NPPTL’s new website, which was scheduled to go live in early 2025, will not provide any make- or model-specific donning instructions for FFRs. The agency is referring respirator users to the donning instructions provided with the device, which are sometimes printed on the packaging. NIOSH has previously published generalized instructions for how to wear an FFR in PDF format.
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CSB Releases Update in Investigation of Virginia Ammonia Release
On Nov. 15, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released an update to its investigation of an ammonia release that occurred on July 31, 2024, at the Cuisine Solutions Inc. food processing facility in Sterling, Virginia.
The facility used ammonia refrigerant to cool water used in food preparation. An employee reported smelling a chemical odor and experiencing tearing eyes, throat irritation, and difficulty breathing outside the building, near the main employee entrance. Maintenance workers investigating the report a few minutes later observed a white cloud emerging from the ammonia system located near the west side of the building.
Meanwhile, people inside the facility identified an ammonia odor. The site manager instructed all personnel to evacuate through exits on the east side, but some mistakenly evacuated through exits near the ammonia release and were exposed to ammonia vapor.
Of the 286 employees and contractors present at the facility, 40 were evaluated at local medical facilities and four were admitted to nearby hospitals. The report is available on the CSB website (PDF). Further information about CSB’s investigation and a link to download the update may be found in a CSB news release.
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NIOSH Recommends Ergonomics Controls for Radiopharmaceutical Facility
A NIOSH health hazard evaluation (HHE) report published in September includes the agency’s recommendations for addressing ergonomic hazards in a radiopharmaceutical facility. NIOSH staff visited the facility at the request of management, who were concerned about employees tasked with moving shipping containers and using hot cell manipulators to pull drug doses.
The NIOSH evaluators found that workstations at the facility were not designed to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Some employees tasked with lifting shipping containers reported back pain, and some whose tasks included using the hot cell manipulator reported pain in their hands and wrists.
Recommendations in the report include ensuring proper hand-working heights and reach distances and that shipping containers and other heavy items are placed on load-leveling tables or carts instead of directly on the floor. The report also specifies requirements for a remote handling device and for adjustable workstations that accommodate workers of different heights and reach lengths during sitting and standing tasks. For workers who usually stand when performing their tasks, the employer should provide antifatigue mats that cover the entire work area, the report states.
The report may be downloaded as a PDF.
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EPA Updates Ventilation Guidance to Prevent Virus Spread
Updated guidance from EPA presents ventilation strategies for preventing the spread of respiratory viruses in homes, schools, offices, and commercial buildings. A news release from the agency says that the guidance incorporates the latest science on indoor air quality and recent recommendations from CDC.
The guidance recommends that schools, offices, and commercial buildings hire professionals knowledgeable about heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to ensure their systems are running optimally. If increasing the amount of outdoor air in a building is not possible, EPA’s guidance suggests upgrading HVAC filters to the highest MERV rating the system can accommodate and using portable air cleaners. It suggests targeting five air changes per hour (ACH) as a goal to reduce the number of viral particles in indoor spaces. It also recommends promoting remote work and reducing occupancy.
In addition to increasing outside-air ventilation where possible, EPA suggests adjusting or reconfiguring airflows in indoor spaces to prevent air from blowing directly from person to person and exhausting restrooms to the outdoors. Upper room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, or UVGI, is recommended as a possible supplement to, but not a replacement for, ventilation and filtration. The guidance includes a warning to avoid the use of air cleaners that generate ozone, which is a lung irritant.
Readers can access EPA’s updated guidance on the agency’s website. For more information, the guidance points to ASHRAE standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols, ASHRAE’s building readiness guide (PDF), and CDC’s webpage on ventilation and respiratory viruses.
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NIOSH Releases Five Draft Skin Notation Profiles
Draft skin notation profiles for the chemicals allyl alcohol, formamide, formic acid, phenothiazine, and picric acid were made available by NIOSH in November. Skin notations are hazard warnings that alert workers and employers to the health risks of skin exposures to chemicals in the workplace. The profiles provide the scientific rationale behind skin notations.
Allyl alcohol is used in chemical manufacturing and in the production of resins, plasticizers, and pharmaceuticals. The draft profile indicates that allyl alcohol is highly toxic, potentially lethal following skin exposure, and a potential skin irritant.
Formamide is used as a chemical intermediate, a solvent, and a softener for water-soluble gums, animal glues, and paper. NIOSH has assigned formamide a composite skin notation indicating that it is a potential skin irritant.
Formic acid has several uses, including as a fragrance ingredient, preservative, and pH adjuster in cosmetics, and in products related to washing, cleaning, metal surface treatment, water treatment, textile and paper dyeing and finishing, and leather tanning. The draft profile indicates that formic acid is potentially corrosive to the skin.
Phenothiazine has multiple applications, including as a polymerization inhibitor, insecticide, and antioxidant. NIOSH indicates that it is a potential skin irritant.
Picric acid is used in the making of explosives, as a component of rocket fuel, in battery manufacturing, and in the pharmaceutical, textile, and leather industries, among other applications. NIOSH has assigned picric acid a notation indicating its potential to cause immune-mediated reactions following exposure to the skin.
The draft documents are available from Regulations.gov.
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New Rule Sets Safety Requirements for Rail Workers
A final rule published in October by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) sets new requirements for protecting rail workers. The rule gives rail transit agencies one year to create a roadway worker protection program that focuses on employees who work on or around rail lines. The program must be approved by a state safety oversight agency and establish minimum elements such as job safety briefings and lone-worker protection.
Employers will be required to document their program, update it every two years, conduct a safety risk assessment, and establish training. The rule also requires reporting of near misses.
According to FTA, between Jan. 1, 2008, and June 30, 2024, 29 rail workers were killed and 144 seriously injured while performing track work. FTA estimates that the rule will prevent an average of 1.2 fatalities and 2.4 injuries each year.
For more information, review the rule in the Federal Register.
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Benzene Among Five Tox Profiles Released for Public Comment
A new draft toxicological profile for benzene is available from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Long-term exposure to benzene, which is used as a solvent and is found in products made from coal and petroleum, may affect bone marrow and blood production.
According to OSHA, benzene has also been linked to leukemia in individuals exposed to the substance; exposures of affected people ranged from less than five years to more than 30 years. The agency warns that short-term exposure to benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, unconsciousness, and death. Workers involved in manufacturing products like plastics, detergents, pesticides, and other chemicals may be exposed to benzene. ATSDR states that firefighters, gasoline station workers, and dry cleaners may be exposed to the substance at higher levels.
New draft toxicological profiles are also available for carbon disulfide, chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (CDDs), cyanide, and thallium. According to ATSDR, carbon disulfide is mostly used to manufacture the synthetic cloth fiber rayon. CDDs, which comprise 75 dioxins, may be formed during certain processes in industry—for example, at pulp and paper mills during chlorine bleaching. The agency describes cyanide as “a well-known poison that can cause death if exposed to very high levels in the air, food, or drink, or directly on the skin.” And thallium, a naturally occurring metal, is used in superconductors, low-melting glass, photoelectric cells, and radiation detection equipment.
The tox profiles for these substances can be found on the ATSDR website. Comments on the draft profiles are due by Feb. 6. More information on submitting comments is available in the Federal Register.
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NIOSH Evaluates Ergonomic Hazards at Logistics Facility
NIOSH’s recommendations for ergonomic controls at a California logistics company, based on the agency’s January 2019 evaluation, have been published in a recent health hazard evaluation (HHE) report. NIOSH staff visited the facility, which was part of a global distribution platform, at the request of safety management concerned with ergonomic issues and musculoskeletal injuries among warehousing operations workers.
To assess worker health concerns, the evaluators interviewed 39 distribution process workers and leaders, who were among the facility’s 1,300 employees, and observed work processes, practices, and conditions. Most workstations and areas lacked features such as anti-fatigue mats and adjustable chairs and stools. Some employees whose tasks included packing, unpacking, loading, or unloading boxes from trucks reported back pain, and others tasked with unpacking and sorting material from the chute reported pain in their shoulders.
NIOSH recommends that the logistics company reduce workers’ risk of lower back and shoulder disorders through changes to job design. “Job tasks, workstations, and tools and other equipment should be designed to match the physical capabilities of the employee,” the HHE report states. This includes ensuring proper hand working heights and reach distances. The employer should also provide standing and seated workstations that adjust to accommodate workers’ heights and job demands, while employees who routinely stand to perform their jobs should be provided antifatigue mats. Precise specifications for all these controls are included in the report (PDF).
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CDC Issues Expanded Avian Influenza Guidance
CDC has updated its guidance for how people working around animals infected with H5N1 can protect themselves from exposure to the virus, which causes avian influenza or bird flu. The updates include adjustments to CDC’s personal protective equipment recommendations to prioritize work tasks and environments in which workers are at higher risk for H5N1 exposure.
Higher risk tasks include culling infected poultry, caring for sick cows, or working in a milking parlor. CDC also now recommends offering influenza A(H5) testing and the antiviral medication oseltamivir to asymptomatic workers who report either not wearing PPE or experiencing a PPE failure during a high-risk exposure to H5N1.
CDC stresses that the risk of H5N1 infection among the general population is low but that strengthening protections for farm workers is important to reduce the risk of H5N1 transmission from sick animals.
More information, including links to CDC’s interim guidance for avian influenza, may be found on the agency's website.
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EPA Revises Risk Evaluation for 1,4-Dioxane
EPA has released a supplement to its risk determination for 1,4-dioxane, a solvent used in laboratory and industrial applications, as well as in dish soaps and laundry detergents used by cleaning services and laundromats. This supplement considers the potential effects of 1,4-dioxane exposures on workers and members of the general population, including when the solvent is a byproduct of manufacturing processes.
Exposure to 1,4-dioxane may result in cancer and damage to the liver and nasal tissue. EPA had already determined that 1,4-dioxane presents an “unreasonable risk of injury to human health” in December 2020, but its Scientific Advisory Committee found that the agency had not evaluated all the ways people could be exposed to the solvent.
Workers who handle 1,4-dioxane in industrial and manufacturing applications and in commercial applications may be at risk through inhalation and dermal exposure, EPA found. Of the 26 industrial and commercial uses evaluated by EPA, 22 “significantly contribute to the unreasonable risk to workers,” the agency states in a press release.
The supplement also addresses risks to fenceline communities and the general population from inhaling 1,4-dioxane or ingesting it in contaminated water. When cleaning products containing 1,4-dioxane are washed down the drain or disposed of in landfills, the substance may enter surface and drinking water.
EPA next plans to take risk management steps. “EPA will release a proposed rule under TSCA section 6 to protect people from the identified risks,” the press release states.
For more information about EPA’s 1,4-dioxane risk evaluation and supplement, visit the agency’s website and refer to the press release.
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NIOSH Evaluates Mercury and Noise Hazards at Lightbulb Recycling Facility
In September, NIOSH released a health hazard evaluation (HHE) report that recommends controls for mercury and noise hazards at a lightbulb recycling facility. NIOSH personnel measured employees’ exposures and observed how the crew of 15 sorted and crushed lightbulbs. Phosphor dusts from broken lightbulbs may contain mercury, which may be emitted into the air, the report explains.
Of the 18 personal air samples collected by NIOSH evaluators, 10 indicated mercury levels above the ACGIH Threshold Limit Value, and seven were above the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL) for a normal workday, but none exceeded OSHA’s permissible exposure limit. Five employees had elevated levels of mercury in their urine, and 10 reported health symptoms they thought were work related. These symptoms included a metallic or bitter taste in their mouths, changes in personality, and difficulties with thinking and writing, which are consistent with mercury exposure.
Ten out of 18 full-shift personal noise exposure measurements indicated noise levels above the REL, and seven showed noise exposures above OSHA’s action level.
The report recommends installing local exhaust ventilation in production areas and improving airflow in nonproduction areas to reduce exposures to mercury-containing dust. Better housekeeping procedures and standardizing personal protective equipment for workers exposed to dust can also help reduce mercury exposures.
To control noise exposures, the report recommends a hearing conservation program; regular maintenance, isolation, or enclosure of equipment; and the use of hearing protection in noisy areas.
The HHE report may be downloaded as a PDF.
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NIOSH, MSHA Target Opioid Use Disorder among Mine Workers
A new guide released jointly by NIOSH and MSHA is intended to help occupational health and safety managers, mine operators, and others prevent opioid use disorder within the mining industry. According to the agencies, mine workers are disproportionately affected by opioid use and overdose compared to workers in other industries.
Mine workers’ increased risk for harmful substance use and adverse mental health outcomes can stem from work-related pain and injuries as well as psychosocial stress due to difficult working conditions, the guide explains. Physically demanding tasks and numerous hazardous exposures are among the examples of work-related factors outlined by NIOSH and MSHA that can contribute to substance use disorders. The resources in the agencies’ new publication can be used by occupational health and safety managers to implement prevention strategies aimed at better equipping their workplaces to address issues related to opioid use.
The guide is available from the MSHA website.
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OSHA Releases Arc Flash Guidance
New guidance from OSHA includes recommendations that employers can use to address arc flash hazards. Arc flashes are electrical explosions that produce temperatures greater than 35,000 F—“nearly four times the temperature of the surface of the sun,” the guidance notes—along with shrapnel, concussive forces, and deafening sounds. Items within a three-foot radius of an arc flash are likely to burn, melt, or vaporize, though most injuries from arc flashes result from the ignition of flammable clothing.
Employers are required to estimate the incident heat energy of electrical conductors or equipment to determine the arc flash boundary, which is the distance at which a worker without appropriate PPE could receive second-degree burns. Organizations have developed different methods for calculating arc flash incident energy levels, but some may not be applicable in all situations. The guidance recommends that employers use multiple calculation methods and implement the most conservative.
The guidance emphasizes that the arc flash boundary is separate from the restricted approach and limited approach boundaries defined in NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. The restricted and limited approach boundaries are intended to protect against electric shock, not arc flash. The arc flash boundary can lie within either the restricted or limited approach boundaries or extend beyond them.
OSHA’s guidance includes a discussion of the hierarchy of controls as it pertains to arc flash hazards as well as a table that identifies specific types of arc-rated PPE. For more information, download the guidance (PDF).
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OSHA Extends Comment Period for Heat Rule, Schedules Hearing
OSHA has extended by 15 days the comment period for its proposed heat rule, which was published in the Federal Register in August. The extension is intended to allow stakeholders additional time—until Jan. 15, 2025—to review the agency’s proposal and gather information and data to support their feedback. The comment period was initially set to end on Dec. 30.
OSHA also scheduled an informal public hearing about the proposal to begin on June 16. Individuals who wish to provide oral testimony or documentary evidence or question witnesses at the hearing must register using a form on the agency’s website on or before May 2.
The proposed rule on heat injury and illness prevention among workers in both indoor and outdoor settings, if finalized, would cover approximately 36 million workers, or about a third of all full-time workers in the U.S. Provisions of the proposed rule would require affected employers to develop and implement site-specific heat injury and illness prevention plans as well as plans to acclimatize new or returning workers who may be unaccustomed to working in high-heat conditions. The proposed rule also addresses requirements for drinking water, rest breaks, and control of indoor heat.
With former President Donald Trump returning to the White House on Jan. 20, the future of OSHA’s proposed heat rulemaking is uncertain. Experts interviewed by Construction Dive, a publication focused on the construction and building industry, predicted that the second Trump administration may “abandon the rulemaking process altogether.”
Learn more about OSHA’s heat rulemaking and how to comment by visiting the agency's website.
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CSB Investigates Fatal Hydrogen Sulfide Release at Texas Refinery
Two workers died and 13 others were admitted to local hospitals in October following a release of approximately 27,000 pounds of hydrogen sulfide gas at the PEMEX refinery in Deer Park, Texas. The cities of Deer Park and Pasadena issued shelter-in-place orders in response to the release.
A preliminary report from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board indicates that a segment of piping at the plant had been depressurized, purged, and isolated in preparation for regular maintenance. But two contract workers who attempted to perform the maintenance on Oct. 10 opened a flange on an adjacent pipe approximately five feet away from the purged pipe. The discharge fatally injured one of the maintenance workers. A second contract worker who was performing unrelated work about 250 feet away was also killed.
At press time, CSB’s investigation was ongoing. For more information, read the agency’s preliminary report.