Mass. food manufacturer cited for PSM deficiencies
When a check valve in the pump room of a Massachusetts food plant leaked about nine pounds of anhydrous ammonia last year, the ammonia sensor in the pump room failed to sound an alarm.
"The leak was relatively small but the consequences could have been enormous. Exposure to even as little as 300 parts per million of anhydrous ammonia is immediately dangerous to life and health. An uncontrolled release can be lethal and catastrophic," said Kenneth Shedden, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.