Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission announced that with proper training, people working in metal casting facilities know that mixing water and molten material can be a serious, if not deadly mistake, as tragic incidents at two Ohio companies Globe Metallurgical & TimkenSteel in 2022 showed. OSHA issued a citation to Globe Metallurgical for one willful violation of the general duty clause for its failure to provide a safe working environment, and three serious safety violations. Inspectors identified the company's failure to develop containment measures for molten materials, its lack of adequate personal protective equipment and its failure to train workers on its use. OSHA has proposed penalties of USD 188,533. On 10 July 2022, the combination of water with tons of superheated material spilling onto a foundry floor caused a steam explosion that severely injured a supervisor at one of the nation's largest ferroalloy manufacturers Globe Metallurgical in Waterford. Investigators with the US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the company failed to use required containment measures and did not provide workers responding to the spill with personal protective equipment. OSHA learned employees were pouring molten material into a large ladle for cast forms when the material burned through the bottom of the ladle and about 8,000 pounds of molten material, heated to nearly 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, spilled. Employees responded by spraying water on the spill and using a forklift to try to break up the material when an explosion occurred, which caused the supervisor to suffer third-degree burns. OSHA cited TimkenSteel for one willful violation of the agency’s general duty clause and proposed penalties of USD 145,027. The agency has cited the company four times in the past five years for safety and health violations. In June 2022, OSHA cited TimkenSteel after a worker suffered fatal crushing injuries during an incident in December 2021 at its Gambrinus facility in Canton. In Canton, three furnace attendants working at TimkenSteel's Faircrest plant suffered severe injuries on 26 July 2022, after an explosion of an electric arc furnace after water became encapsulated in molten metal. All three workers were hospitalized, one of whom died on August 19. OSHA investigators determined the company failed to provide the attendants with protection from potential steam explosions. They were conducting furnace-tapping operations at the time. Both companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Globe Metallurgical manufactures metallurgical and chemical-grade silicon metal and silicon-based alloys. A subsidiary of Globe Specialty Metals and part of Ferroglobe, it is one of the world's largest producers of silicon metal. Globe Metallurgical employs about 750 workers in the US with 300 in Waterford. TimkenSteel is a leading producer of carbon steel, alloy and micro-alloy steel in specialty bars, mechanical tubing and other products used in the automotive, industrial and energy markets. The company employs 1,800 workers.
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission announced that with proper training, people working in metal casting facilities know that mixing water and molten material can be a serious, if not deadly mistake, as tragic incidents at two Ohio companies Globe Metallurgical & TimkenSteel in 2022 showed. OSHA issued a citation to Globe Metallurgical for one willful violation of the general duty clause for its failure to provide a safe working environment, and three serious safety violations. Inspectors identified the company's failure to develop containment measures for molten materials, its lack of adequate personal protective equipment and its failure to train workers on its use. OSHA has proposed penalties of USD 188,533. On 10 July 2022, the combination of water with tons of superheated material spilling onto a foundry floor caused a steam explosion that severely injured a supervisor at one of the nation's largest ferroalloy manufacturers Globe Metallurgical in Waterford. Investigators with the US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the company failed to use required containment measures and did not provide workers responding to the spill with personal protective equipment. OSHA learned employees were pouring molten material into a large ladle for cast forms when the material burned through the bottom of the ladle and about 8,000 pounds of molten material, heated to nearly 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, spilled. Employees responded by spraying water on the spill and using a forklift to try to break up the material when an explosion occurred, which caused the supervisor to suffer third-degree burns. OSHA cited TimkenSteel for one willful violation of the agency’s general duty clause and proposed penalties of USD 145,027. The agency has cited the company four times in the past five years for safety and health violations. In June 2022, OSHA cited TimkenSteel after a worker suffered fatal crushing injuries during an incident in December 2021 at its Gambrinus facility in Canton. In Canton, three furnace attendants working at TimkenSteel's Faircrest plant suffered severe injuries on 26 July 2022, after an explosion of an electric arc furnace after water became encapsulated in molten metal. All three workers were hospitalized, one of whom died on August 19. OSHA investigators determined the company failed to provide the attendants with protection from potential steam explosions. They were conducting furnace-tapping operations at the time. Both companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Globe Metallurgical manufactures metallurgical and chemical-grade silicon metal and silicon-based alloys. A subsidiary of Globe Specialty Metals and part of Ferroglobe, it is one of the world's largest producers of silicon metal. Globe Metallurgical employs about 750 workers in the US with 300 in Waterford. TimkenSteel is a leading producer of carbon steel, alloy and micro-alloy steel in specialty bars, mechanical tubing and other products used in the automotive, industrial and energy markets. The company employs 1,800 workers.
