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August 2007 – Part 2

Facility Safety Update

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A COMPILATION OF NEWS ARTICLES AND EMERGING REGULATORY ISSUES AFFECTING THE SAFETY of the MEAT AND POULTRY INDUSTRY

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A recent supplemental announcement read “Are you prepared for when OSHA shows up at your facility? Over the last few years there has been an increase in the number of food processing facilities that have been hit with ever increasing fines.” The food industry has climbed onto the OSHA radar in recent years with ergonomics, cutting injuries and lately much more severe issues. There are numerous sections within OSHA that require written plans, periodic training or other documentation. There is also an awareness portion. If an employee is unaware of a regulation Hazardous Communications (MSDS) for example, it won’t matter if he has been to a training class or not. Give Chilton Consulting Group a call; we can review your safety program and offer recommendations on compliance or safety maintenance.

Announcements from Chilton Consulting Group

1. 1) Please check it out at www.chiltonconsulting.com. Feel free to email me with any questions or suggestions.

2. 2)Don’t forget to review your safety plans ensure that all of the programs and documentation practices are in place. Contact CCG for a mock-OSHA audit to see exactly where you stand.

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SERVICES AVAILABLE

With this growth there has also been an expansion of services. The list below outlines many of these services. If you don’t see what you need on this list, call and talk to us and we will do our best to see to your compliance and safety needs.

* HACCP Plan Reassessments * HACCP Plan Developments

* Food safety & Quality Audits * Sanitation / GMP Audits

* Audit Preparation – Silliker, Cook & Thurber, AIB * SPS / SSOP Separation Project

* IVT Preparation / Listeria Assessment * Quality Process Improvements

* Operations Management Improvements (TOPS) * HACCP Training Workshops

* Product Recall / Crisis Management Planning * Food Security Plans

* Manpower Reductions / Efficiency Improvements * Animal Welfare Audits

* Waste Water Control / Cost Reductions * Small Plant Layout and Design

* Training Seminars – Food Safety, Regulatory, Quality Topics

* Regulatory Compliance – EIAO Prep Audit or NOIE Response

* Workplace Safety – OSHA Compliance and Workman’s Comp Cost Reductions

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OSHA Enforcement

1) $155,000 in Penalties for Poultry Processing Plant with 21 Violations

Discuss - OSHA has proposed penalties of $155,000 against Kings Delight for 13 safety and eight health violations found at its Braselton, Ga., production facility. Inspectors visited the poultry processor as part of OSHA's Site-Specific Targeting Program, which targets the nation's most hazardous workplaces for inspection based on their histories of having high numbers of injury and illness cases.

OSHA proposed penalties totaling $97,500 for four repeat safety violations including having employees authorized to perform work for which they were not properly trained, lack of machine guards on equipment, machine disconnects not properly labeled, and sanitation employees not allowed to access lockouts for equipment they were servicing. it was cited for eight other serious safety violations including several fall-related hazards and the use of damaged electrical cords resulting in proposed penalties of $27,500.

OSHA also found eight health violations, including one repeat and six serious violations, resulting in $30,000 in proposed penalties. included the company's failure to provide emergency eye wash and shower stations for employees handling corrosive materials, failure to conduct proper annual audiograms, incorrect use of respirators, and allowing employees to be exposed to particulates above the maximum level specified by regulation. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard.

2) U.S. Labor Department's OSHA proposes $253,500 in penalties against Cumming, Ga., poultry processor
Koch Foods of Cumming cited with numerous serious and repeat violations

ATLANTA -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $253,500 in penalties against Koch Foods of Cumming, Ga., for 34 safety and health violations.

Citation examples include: not providing guardrails, failing to keep exit routes free of objects, improperly maintaining electrical boxes and not providing an emergency eye wash station for employees handling corrosive materials, operating a forklift without a seatbelt, failing to conduct regular inspections of forklifts, unguarded machinery that exposed employees to amputation hazards and lack of effort to protect employees from noise exposure.

3) OSHA Cites Army Corps of Engineers for Inadequate Safeguards against Ammonia Release

Discuss - The Corps was cited for violations of OSHA's Process Safety Management standard – in this case, 17,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia used in the refrigeration system for the laboratory's ice engineering facility – they failed to collect and update all process safety information; complete, update, maintain and follow through on all process hazard analyses; maintain complete, certified and up-to-date written operating procedures; provide adequate employee training; inspect or test piping and other process equipment; maintain written procedures to manage any changes to the process; document corrective actions taken after a previous ammonia release; and certify that compliance audits were conducted every three years.

4) OSHA Cites Tyson Foods for Safety and Health Violations, Proposes Penalties Totaling $339,500:

OSHA began an inspection January 9 as part of its Site-Specific Targeting Program {a random inspection protocol in which OSHA randomly picks industries above a certain injury / illness index}.

"Employers must provide a safe and healthful working environment and ensure that all employees are protected from hazardous conditions," said Charles E. Adkins, CIH, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City. "This employer was well aware of federal standards to protect employees from the hazards found during inspection, yet did not comply with them."

$146,000 for Serious: 1) lack of exhaust duct grease filters and inspections; 2) floors not maintained in a clean and dry condition; 3) unguarded walking/working surfaces above four feet; 4) obstructed exits; 5) exit routes inadequately illuminated and one adjacent to a high-hazard area; 6) unavailable and underdeveloped energy control procedures; 7) an incomplete annual inspection not understood by employees; 8) lack of training, 9) lack of identification tags on slings; 10) broken oxygen gauges; 11) storage of incompatible chemicals; 12) a lack of hazard communication labeling and training; 13) aisles too small for forklift traffic; 14) powered industrial trucks not being inspected prior to use and used in a damaged condition; 15) an unguarded conveyor belt system; unguarded belts and pulleys; 16) flash burn from welding rays; 17) exposed, energized electrical wiring; and 18) hazards associated with process safety management.

137,500 for Repeat: 1) unsafe stacking of material; 2) unguarded moving parts of machinery and equipment; 3) unguarded revolving drum ends; 4) exposed, energized electrical wiring; 5) not providing a distinctive alarm for an ammonia release; 6) not providing quick drench/eyewash stations in needed areas; 7) containers of hazardous chemicals lacking labels displaying appropriate chemical identities and hazard warnings; and 8) not providing effective hazard communication training.

$55,000 for Willful: not providing procedures for emergency shutdown and startup following an emergency shutdown of the process system.

$1,000 for Other-than-serious violations: exit doors not being marked; recordkeeping; medical evaluation; and inaccessible material safety data sheets.

5) OSHA Proposes $56,250 in Penalties Following Box Bailer Injury

Discuss

Prichard, Ala.-based grocery store chain Autry Greer & Sons has received $56,250 in proposed penalties from OSHA for 25 serious and five other safety violations at three stores and the company's corporate headquarters. - serious violations including instances of locked and blocked exit doors, improperly maintained electrical equipment and junction boxes, lack of an emergency action plan and safety instructions, and the employer's failure to develop and communicate a hazard communication program and energy control plan.

6) U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA cites Ray-Carroll County Grain Growers in Carrollton, Mo., following double fatality: Federal agency proposes $189,000 in penalties

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited the Ray-Carroll County Grain Growers' grain storage and farm supply cooperative in Carrollton, Mo., for four alleged willful violations of federal health and safety law following a double fatality at the facility in February. The agency is proposing penalties totaling $189,000.

This is a list that rarely gets published. It is only a handful of accidents and fatalities that happen every month. Not sure how important safety is – ask these people or their surviving families.

Man Killed in Forklift Accident http://www.clarkecountydemocrat.com/news/2007/0719/Front_Page/001.html

City Worker Electrocuted While Mowing http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/articles/2007/08/10/news/news938.txt

Worker Killed in Water Treatment Plant Accident http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2007/08/10/ap-state-ar/d8qua3a81.txt

OSHA Investigates T-Mobile Site Where 2 Workers Killed http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/site_78917___article.html/wednesday_mobile.html

Hershey Fined $140,000 after Woman’s Arm Severed http://www.modbee.com/local/story/29673.html

OSHA/EPA Chemical Database http://www.osha.gov/web/dep/chemicaldata/#target

Company Pleads Guilty in Worker’s Fatal Fall http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07200/802896-100.stm

Toxic Cleaning Agent Banned http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070720155133.htm

Black & Decker Recalls Trimmers/Edgers Due to Laceration Hazard from Projectiles http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07248.html

OSHA News

Congressmen Praise Safeway, Inc. for Ceasing Sale of Meat Treated with Carbon Monoxide

Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI), chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, commended Safeway, Inc. for the grocery chain’s decision to discontinue selling fresh meat packed in carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide artificially colors the product and disguises spoilage. This practice is also used by major meat packaging companies. - Safeway, Inc. announced its policy yesterday in a letter sent to Dingell and Stupak (http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_110/110-ltr.071607.Safeway%20response.pdf) . The company was responding to a June 26 letter from the two committee leaders. (http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_110/110-ltr.062607.Safeway.pdf)

Electrical Hazard Assessment: First Step in Meeting OSHA Standards A hazard assessment engineering firm can help meet OSHA standards and improve safety. In the July issue of OHS, Larry Altmayer offers tips on what to look for in selecting an electrical hazard assessment firm. http://www.1105newsletters.com/sbnclbd_lkgosgdd.html

Benefits of Comprehensive Safety and Health Program

Discuss - OSHA released a new case study that shows how Ritrama, a signatory of the Graphic Arts Coalition alliance, realized lower workers' compensation premiums and higher productivity and quality after implementing a comprehensive safety and health program.

"Ritrama's success is a good example of what can happen when management and employees dedicate themselves to workplace safety and health," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "While the benefits from Ritrama's new safety and health program have occurred throughout the company, the company has reduced their workers' compensation premiums by $44,000, increased sales by 7.5 percent and have reduced the costs of manufacturing defects and waste by more than $2 million."

In a company memorandum thanking Ritrama employees, Safety Director Mike Conklin wrote, "Our safety programs are not given 'lip service.' Safety is part of our culture, and we have had measurable results over the past 5 years."

Ritrama, a multi-national corporation, manufactures pressure-sensitive films and labels for the automotive, beverage, health, beauty, and pharmaceutical industries. In an effort to significantly improve its safety and health performance at the company's manufacturing plant in Minneapolis, Minn., Ritrama designed and implemented a program to educate employees, managers, and supervisors about safe work practices and procedures. The case study, "Ritrama Invests in Safety and Improves its Bottom Line, (http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/success_stories/alliances/gac/gac_case_study.html) " details Ritrama's efforts to protect employee safety and health while also benefiting from higher productivity and an improved bottom line.

EPA News

New Anti-Idling Regulations in Rhode Island and New Jersey

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announced last week that regulations prohibiting the unnecessary idling of diesel-powered vehicles and equipment have been filed and are effective immediately. similar to those in both Massachusetts and Connecticut, are intended to protect health and the environment and to conserve fuel. Under the law and the new regulations, which further define the law, idling of on-road diesel powered vehicles is limited to five consecutive minutes in any 60 minute period and non-road diesel engines are prohibited from any unnecessary idling, except as provided in the exempt situations

Inspection Pending - What Inspectors Look For:

EPA areas of focus are water and air. Finding Clean Water Act violations tops the list for inspectors, particularly construction activity stormwater runoff.

State areas of focus include:

Containers. Most violations are simple labeling mishaps and improper closing.
Hazardous/solid waste. This includes illegal dumping, waste tires, and generator violations.
Underground storage tanks (USTs). Leaking USTs are found across the country.
Air quality/asbestos.
Recordkeeping. The list is long, but failing to produce a manifest with the appropriate signatures, within the allotted time frame, is high on the list.

On the health and safety side, OSHA looks for:

Written programs and other documentation. This includes hazard communication, permit-required confined space, personal protective equipment, bloodborne pathogens, and general safety and health programs.
Injury and illness logs. Be sure you're using the most up-to-date version. Get a copy of the OSHA Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, here.

http://enviro.blr.com/display.cfm/id/79505

EPA Enforcement

Enforcement action appears to be on the rise, at least for the recent time. Here are but a few of the penalties for the period.

Cereal Manufacturer Assessed $2,700 Penalty for Hazardous Waste Violations

The Weetabix Company, Inc., which operates a cereal manufacturing plant has been assessed a $2,700 penalty by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) for violating Hazardous Waste Management regulations. MassDEP personnel determined that the company had generated hazardous waste in excess of its registered status, failed to maintain emergency information and failed to keep accurate records.

Owner of Polluting Meat Plant in Newark Indicted on Criminal Charges

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced last week that the owner of a Newark meat plant and his companies were indicted on criminal charges related to the release of contaminated wastewater and foul odors from the plant and their failure to maintain required air pollution equipment. – one count of violation of the state Water Pollution Control Act and three counts of violation of the state Air Pollution Control Act, all third degree crimes. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Third-degree violations of the Water Pollution Control Act carry a sentence of up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $75,000, while third-degree violations of the Air Pollution Control Act carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000, which can be tripled for the corporate defendants. The charges stem from an investigation by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Division of Criminal Justice–Major Crimes/Environmental section.

The indictment further charges the defendants with three counts of violating the Air Pollution Control Act by purposely or knowingly:

Operating the plant from Oct. 16, 2006, through May 1, 2007, while one of the plant’s required air pollution control units or “scrubbers” was not working as a result of damage sustained in a fire.
Emitting foul odors into the outdoor air over a two-year period that interfered with the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhoods and were strong enough to sicken county and DEP inspectors who visited the site.
Refusing to admit DEP inspectors to the plant on Jan. 29, 2007.

Coca-Cola Bottling Fined $528,500 for Diesel Emissions

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) announced last week that it has negotiated a settlement with Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Los Angeles for $528,500 as a result of failure to properly inspect its diesel truck fleet for smoke emissions. “The best way for corporations to avoid penalties is to keep their vehicles maintained to engine manufacturers' specifications,” said Tom Cackette, ARB acting executive officer.

U.S. EPA orders six Southern California dairies to comply with federal Clean Water Act

LOS ANGELES -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently ordered six dairies located in the Southern California cities of Chino, Ontario, and Mira Loma to comply with federal wastewater discharge regulations or face fines up to $32,500 per day per violation

“These six dairies were cited for failing to comply with basic permit requirements addressing manure waste, which can pollute streams, rivers and groundwater,” said Alexis Strauss, director of the EPA’s water division for the Pacific Southwest. “Protecting public health and the environment is our primary goal and through participation in the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program – a program that has made significant progress improving the environmental performance of dairies statewide – we trust dairies will return to compliance promptly.”

50 Ways to Reduce Office Waste http://www.businesscreditcards.com/bootstrapper/working-green-50-tips-to-reduce-your-offices-waste/

Miller Industries Fined for Mishandling Hazardous Waste http://www.sunjournal.com/story/223974-3/LewistonAuburn/Mill_owner_fined_for_mishandling_hazardous_waste/

Revised Florida Hazardous Waste Regulations http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WASTE/2007/August/Day-10/f15670.htm

Chicago May Stop Using BP Gas Cards Unless Company Goes Green http://www.csrwire.com/PressRelease.php?id=9368

The Corporate Race to Cut Carbon http://www.nature.com/climate/2007/0708/full/climate.2007.31.html

Washington State Adopts Uniform Environmental Covenants Act http://www.martenlaw.com/news/?20070725-ueca-enacted#_edn2

Wind Installations Offset More Than 40 Million Tons of CO2 http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5258

Pond Scum to Power Boeing Aircraft http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/secret-kiwi-fuel-ingredient-is-pond-scum/2007/07/19/1184559919499.html

Quality (ISO) Information

Brain Teasers: Are Current Measurements Good Enough for Tighter Specifications?

Colin is the expert on measurement studies for a company that makes electrical components. For two critical product measurements—resistance and watts—product specifications are expressed as a percent of the target value for the particular component. by Dr. Sophronia Ward

The IEC’s certification program allows organizations to add hazardous substance process management to their QMS.

During the last half of the 20th century, the global economy grew to the point where it required consistency and compatibility between management systems. As a result, the ISO 9001 standard began to gain international acceptance in the manufacturing world. [Full story]

Chilton Consulting Group
P. O. Box 129 , Rocky Face , Georgia 30740
Office Phone (706) 694-8325
Cell Phone (706) 264-1054
Fax (706) 694-8316

Email chilton@alltel.net
for information or proposals.

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