On October 10, 2012, a 55-year old contract painter with 35 years of experience was killed at a kaolin and ball clay operation. He was standing on the bottom of a 40-foot high, 50-foot diameter tank that was open to the atmosphere and covered with mesh cloth material. He was spraying coal tar on the inside walls of the tank and was found unconscious by coworkers. He was recovered by emergency personnel and pronounced dead at a hospital.
- Develop, implement, and maintain a written Hazard Communication (HazCom) program.
- Ensure that a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is accessible to persons for each hazardous chemical to which they may be exposed.
- Review and discuss MSDS control section recommendations with employees that may be exposed to hazardous chemicals. Establish and discuss safe work procedures before starting any work and identify and control all hazards.
- Train all persons to recognize and understand safe job procedures, including the physical and health hazards of chemicals that are being used and the proper use of respiratory protection, gloves, body suits, hearing, and eye & face protection.
- Ensure that adequate ventilation is provided to all work areas.
- Ensure that persons are not required to perform work alone in any area where hazardous conditions exist that would endanger their safety.
- Conduct air monitoring with calibrated instruments to ensure a safe working atmosphere. Air monitoring should be done prior to workers entering the confined work space and continuously till the workers have exited the enclosed area. Atmospheric monitoring at minimum includes Oxygen, LEL and all potential toxic gases in the work place.
Based on MSHA’s investigation and the finding of the death certificate, MSHA later concluded that the miner died from natural causes and that the fatality is not chargeable.