Employees at a R+L Carriers Shared Services freight shipping terminal in Wallingford, CT faced dangerous chemical, fire, and explosion hazards on Oct. 6, 2014. The workers were attempting to contain a highly flammable and explosive chemical spill without proper training and personal protective equipment.
The forklift that was being used to move a pallet of tetrahydrofuran, a highly flammable liquid was found to not be operating properly, and accidentally punctured a 55-gallon drum of the hazardous material. As the chemical leaked through the truck bed to the ground, employees attempted to contain the spill with sorbent material. OSHA investigators found that the shipping terminal lacked an emergency response plan and had not trained employees as first responders.
“These workers were essentially defenseless. They did not know how to evaluate the hazards involved, what personal protective equipment to use and what steps to follow to contain the spill safely. Worse, no one present at the terminal did,” said Robert Kowalski, OSHA’s area director in Bridgeport. “These deficiencies in emergency response by R+L Carriers put its employees at risk of death or serious injury.”
GHS-compliant Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) are an integral part of any company’s HazCom program. Employees must be trained to understand the dangers of the hazardous materials they face in the workplace. SDSs provide knowledge of the hazardous chemicals, how best to handle them, and how to respond after exposure.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
