Combustible tobacco dust found at Connecticut manufacturing facility
OSHA: Workers were in danger
OSHA has cited Nuway Tobacco Co. for 22 alleged serious violations of workplace safety and health standards at its South Windsor manufacturing facility. The tobacco sheet manufacturer faces $59,869 in proposed fines following an inspection by the agency’s Hartford Area office.
A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Inspectors found workers exposed to fire and explosion hazards from both combustible tobacco dust generated by the manufacturing process and from the lack of equipment and procedures to prevent the spread of dust fires and explosions. Specifically, accumulated tobacco dust up to one inch thick were found on light fixtures, electrical enclosures, ducts, pipes, equipment and other surfaces in the plant's grinding room; the processing system allowed the escape and buildup of combustible dust in the work area; processing machinery lacked interlock and isolation systems to shut down equipment and prevent or limit the spread of a dust fire or explosion; and protective systems, such as sprinklers and explosion vents, had not been inspected, tested and maintained on a regular basis.
OSHA’s Warren Simpson called the hazard real and present.
"A dust fire or explosion can be catastrophic and result in deaths, injuries and the destruction of entire buildings," said Simpson.