Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1040159
18 PalletCentral • September-October 2018 palletcentral.com ften, employers focus their occupational safety programs and workplace inspections on the most basic hazards: the missing guards on equipment, loose railings on stairways or platforms, spills or obstacles in walkways that can cause slips and falls, and electrical issues. Sometimes the deadliest threats are those that are not obvious, so we will focus this article on one such hazard commonly present in manufacturing facilities: carbon monoxide. In July 2018, OSHA issued a news release about citations issued to a pallet manufacturer in Illinois, after 10 of its employees required emergency medical treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning. The proposed penalties totaled $216,253. During the inspection earlier in 2018, OSHA found that the pallet company workers were exposed to carbon monoxide in excess of OSHA's Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL). The company was cited for failing to address the excessive carbon monoxide (CO) levels, which OSHA calculated exceeded 10 times the PEL arising from its defective forklifts. It also was penalized for allowing operation of these defective forklifts, inadequate machine guarding, and for failure to properly train workers on safety. Further violations were cited when OSHA conducted a follow up inspection a month later. OSHA noted that the company failed to "regularly conduct workplace hazard assessments to determine appropriate measures" and accused it of risking the health of several workers. In particular, OSHA noted that CO monitors were present and were sounding alarms, but the employer required employees to continue working in the hazardous area. This is not an isolated incident, unfortunately. A construction company in Maryland is also under investigation this summer arising from the hospitalization of 12 workers due to carbon monoxide overexposure arising from a propane-powered saw. The crew suffered symptoms including dizziness, difficulty breathing, headaches and nausea, and several were admitted in serious condition. Officials noted that CO levels in excess of 800 parts per million (ppm) can cause collapse and unconsciousness after one hour, and death can occur in two or three hours of heightened exposure. In the Maryland workplace, the exposure levels exceeded 850 ppm. Another case, in New England, resulted in warehouse workers being rendered unconscious (some others had seizures) arising from CO poisoning. In that case, OSHA found all the windows and doors were closed to conserve heat, and there was no exhaust ventilation in the facility. Sources of carbon monoxide poisoning in the workplace are wide ranging, and basically include anything that uses combustion to operate. This includes: pumps, compressors, welding equipment, and power tools, but also includes things often overlooked during safety inspections such as gas generators, space heaters and furnaces. Fuels with carbon content can be triggers for CO overexposures: natural gas, gasoline, kerosene, oil, propane, coal, wood and plastic. But one of the most common indoor sources of CO are forklifts that are not properly maintained, or for which a dilution flow of air has not been established. Carbon monoxide is regulated by OSHA under its "Z table" in 29 CFR 1910.1000, and the PEL is 50 ppm over an eight-hour time-weighted average (TWA). When workers inhale CO in excess, o OSHA Carbon Monoxide Warning By Adele L. Abrams, Esq., CMS SAFETY iStockphoto.com/gyro