Document mB6gJ8aEp7n9owjNR13p74R00

ABD00006014 Vista Chemical Company Highway 25 Post Office Bo* 91 Aberdeen, Mississippi 39730-0091 Phone (601)369-8111 ABERDEEN CHEMICAL PLANT SAFETY AND HEALTH MANUAL ABERDEEN, MISSISSIPPI SUBJECT: EFFECTIVE: REVIEWED BY: APPROVED BY: I. PURPOSE To define the minimum required personal protective equipment for employee protection within the Vista Aberdeen Chemical Plant, and to satisfy the requirements of OSHA's Standard on Personal Protective Equipment 29 CFR 1910.132. II. SCOPE AND APPLICATION This policy covers the Aberdeen Plant's minimum personal protective equipment requirements for employer-provided equipment, PPE design criteria, hazard assessment, equipment selection and use, defective and damaged equipment, and training of PPE users. This policy applies to protective equipment including PPE for eyes, face, head, extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, protective shields and barriers, and fall protection. III. DEFINITIONS A. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)_ - Devices or clothing worn by individuals to help protect them from direct exposure to chemical and physical hazards. Examples include gloves, respirators, hard hats, etc. IV. POLICY REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 1 ABD00006015 IV. POLICY - Continued A Personal protective equipment (PPE) shall be provided and used wherever hazards exist or potentially exist that are capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body. PPE shall be used, stored, and maintained m a sanitary and reliable condition. B. Employer Provided PPE 1 Only PPE provided by the Aberdeen Plant is approved for use by Vista employees who work at this facil ity 2. Where the Aberdeen Plant provides PPE for an employee's use, the Aberdeen Plant shall assure the adequacy of such equipment and make available provisions to properly care for and maintain the equipment in a clean, sanitary, and reliable con dition . C. Employee Responsibilities 1. Employees provided with PPE for their own use, are responsible to properly inspect, use, care for, and maintain the equipment in a clean, sanitary condi tion Employees shall report to their supervisor any deficiencies, defects, and/or damage to the equipment that may affect its proper function. D. Personal Protective Equipment Design 1. All PPE shall be of a safe design and construction for the work to be performed. 2 PPE made available to employees or provided to employees for use shall comply with design criteria specified in OSHA standards 29 CFR 1910 - Subpart I - Personal Protective Equipment and all other re quirements specified in the Vista Aberdeen Plant Safety & Health Manual procedures. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 2 ABD00006016 IV. POLICY - Continued E. Workplace Hazard Assessment 1. The Safety Director is responsible to assess the workplace and determine what hazards are present or likely to be present which necessitate the use of PPE by employees affected by those hazards. 2. The form found in Appendix A of this procedure should be used to conduct the workplace hazard assessment Additional information contained in Appendix B to the OSHA standards 29 CFR 1910 Subpart I - Personal Protective Equipment should be consulted as a guideline to performing the hazard assessment. 3 The Safety Director is responsible to certify m writing that a workplace hazard assessment has been performed. The certification must be included in a document entitled, "Certification of Workplace Hazard Assessment," that identifies: The workplace evaluated The name of the person performing the evalua tion The name of the person certifying the evalua tion The date(s) of the hazard assessment 4. The Safety Director is responsible to re-assess workplace hazards as necessary by identifying and evaluating new equipment and processes, reviewing accident/incident records and re-evaluating the suitability of previously selected PPE. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 3 ABD00006017 IV. POLICY - Continued E. Workplace Hazard Assessment - continued 5. The certification document for the hazard assessment and reassessments shall be maintained on file at the Safety Department. F. Equipment Selection & Use 1. The Safety Department will select PPE based on the hazards employees may be exposed to. A file for each type of PPE selected will be maintained in the Safety Department and a list of the selected PPE will be appended to this policy. 2. Only PPE that will protect employees from the hazards identified in the hazard assessment shall be selected for use. It is the responsibility of the Warehouse & Purchasing Supervisor to ensure that only the specified PPE identified m the hazard assessment is purchased for use in the Aberdeen Plant. 3. To ensure that PPE properly fits employees, consid eration of the need to select various types and sizes shall be made. 4. It is the responsibility of all employees who are required to wear PPE and are affected by the hazards identified in the hazard assessment to properly use the PPE selected for protection against the hazards identified. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 4 ABD00006018 IV. POLICY - Continued G. Defective and Damaged Equipment 1. PPE identified as damaged or defective shall not be used and must be immediately taken out of service until it is repaired to a reliable working condition otherwise it shall be promptly disposed of. H. Training & Information 1. Employees required to use PPE shall receive training on that equipment prior to performing work using that PPE. 2. Employees must be able to demonstrate an under standing of the training content and the ability to properly use the PPE. Employees will be trained to know the following: When PPE is necessary What PPE is necessary h How to properly don, doff, adjust and wear PPE h The limitations of PPE m The proper care, maintenance, useful life and disposal of the PPE 3. Information shall be communicated to affected employees regarding the decisions made for the selection of PPE for each of the hazards identified in the hazard assessment. 4. Employees shall receive additional training when: m Changes in the workplace render previous training obsolete. m Changes in the types of PPE to be used render the previous training to be obsolete. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 5 ABD00006019 IV. POLICY - Continued H. Training & Information m Inadequacies in an employee 1s knowledge or use of PPE indicate that the employee has not retained the necessary understanding or skill. Other changes or conditions arise that warrant additional training. 5. The employee's training will be documented by written certification that contains: m The name of each employee trained. m The date(s) of training. m The subject(s) of the certification. V. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT The information contained in this section is intended as a general reference on the PPE available in the Aberdeen Plant. Where questions exist, PPE selection shall be based on the assessment made for the particular task. I. Nomex (Fire Retardant) Clothing Refer to Aberdeen Safety Policy VSP 28 in the Plant Safety and Health Manual. 2. Gloves The three basic ways gloves are used at the Aberdeen Plant are to protect hands from physical injury, chemical contact, and thermal extremes. The type of job hazard will dictate the type of glove that should be worn. If more than one hazard is involved, more than one type of glove may be needed. Be sure to wear the glove, or com bination of gloves, that properly protect against the potential hazards of the job task. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 6 ABD00006020 V. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT - Continued 2 Gloves - continued a. Welder's Gloves Welder's gloves are thick leather gloves which are lined for additional thermal protection These gloves provide protection against scrapes, minor cuts, abrasions, sparks, and limited contact with hot surfaces. Leather welder's gloves do not pro vide protection against chemical contact. b. Cloth Gloves Cloth gloves may be used to protect the hand from minor scrapes, minor cuts, and abrasions. Thick cloth gloves may offer some protection from contact with moderately hot surfaces. Cloth gloves offer some protection from extremely cold weather. In extremely cold weather, cloth gloves that get wet should be replaced promptly. c. Leather Gloves Leather gloves are an acceptable substitute for cloth gloves. Although cloth gloves are provided, general purpose work gloves are suitable for such use; leather gloves are also provided on a limited basis REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 7 ABD00006021 V. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT - Continued d. Chemical Resistant Gloves Chemical resistant gloves may be used to protect the hands from contact with chemicals, acid, and oils. Although it is not their intended use, chemical resistant gloves offer some protection from ex tremely cold weather, abrasions, scrapes, and minor cuts. Chemical resistant gloves should not be used for protection while working with sharp objects. They also do not provide protection from contact with hot surfaces. e. Electrician or Lineman Gloves Electrician or lineman gloves are used as insulation from high voltage electricity. However, lineman gloves should not be used as the only precaution taken to prevent electrocution or shock. Lineman gloves should only be used for their intended pur pose. Work on high voltage electricity should only be performed by a qualified electrician. 3. Face Shields Face shields provide protection to the face from chemical splashes, sparks, and small flying chips and debris. Face shields protect by shielding (not completely enclosing), therefore there may be areas of the face and neck that will not be protected by a face shield. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 8 ABD00006022 V. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT - Continued 4. Slicker Suits Slicker suits are made up of a chemical resistant jacket and chemical resistant bib overalls. In most situations, if the coat is called for, the overalls will also be needed, and vice-versa. Slicker suits offer protection from incidental chemical contact and chemical splashes. Slicker coats are for the protection of the arms, stomach and upper body. Slicker bib overalls (or pants) are for the protection of the waist, hip, and leg areas. Slicker suits do not offer protection from contact with hot surfaces. By themselves, they offer only limited pro tection from extremely cold weather. During hot weather or times when the heat index is high, slicker suits could increase the potential for heat-related disorders such as heat stress, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, etc. Frequent breaks or worker rotation may be called for if there is a hazard of heat-related disorders. 5. Rubber Boots and Galoshes Rubber boots offer protection for the feet from chemical splashes and incidental chemical contact. Rubber boots will most often be worn with a slicker suit. Rubber "over boots" shall be worn with approved safety shoes/ boots. * For additional information on boots and protective footwear, refer to the Plant She and Footwear Program, VSP 11. 6. Chemical Splash Goggles Chemical splash goggles offer eye protection from chemical splashes. They also offer protection for the eyes from impact by flying objects. Chemical splash goggles do not offer protection for the face. To provide maximum effectiveness, goggles should be worn snug against the face; only prescription safety glasses should be worn under goggles. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 9 ABD00006023 V. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT - Continued 7. Safety Harnesses.and Lanyards 1. Protection and Limitations When worn correctly, safety harnesses offer pro tection from serious injury caused by falls from heights Safety harnesses with lanyards do not prevent falls. Each person wearing a safety harness should work as though he/she is not wearing one. Do not take additional risks simply because you are wearing a safety harness (i.e., do not lean away from the structure simply because the harness is on) . 2. Safety Harness/Lanyard Use a. Safety harnesses with lanyards will be worn while working more than six (6) feet above ground m areas not protected by handrails. Safety harnesses with lanyards will also be worn while working less then six (6) feet above ground m areas exposed to dangerous equipment or processes and not protected by handrails. Safety harnesses should not be worn in lieu of erecting proper handrails b. Safety harnesses with lanyards will be worn at all times while in a personnel lift (such as a "manlift", "bucket truck", or "crane basket", etc ) c. In so far as possible, safety harnesses with lanyards will be worn at all times while working m elevated pipe racks or other elevated areas outside of standard work platforms and walkways. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 3 5 Page 10 ABD00006024 V. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT - Continued 2. Safety Harness/Lanyard Use - continued d Safety harnesses with lanyards will be worn while working on a ladder in such a manner that requires the worker to lean away from the ladder or outside of the ladder rungs. If a safety harness with lanyard is required while working with a straight ladder, the top of the ladder will be secured from slipping. e. Lineman belts or safety belts should not be used m lieu of a safety harness. f. Any person using a safety harness must inspect the safety harness and lanyard prior to use for any visible signs of defect. (1) The harness hardware (i.e., buckles, Dnng, etc ) should be in their proper place. They should not be mis-shaped or excessively worn/dented. They should also be free from rust. (2) The harness material should be not exces sively worn and should not be torn. Har ness rivets should be m place and the rivet hole should not be worn away or elongated. The rivets should also be free from rust. The harness should not be worn if the material has rotted or deteriorated due to age and dirt. (3) The lanyard material should not be exces sively worn and should not be used if the material has rotted or deteriorated due to age and dirt. Lanyards made of manilla rope should be discarded when their diameter has visibly decreased or they acquired a smooth look. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 11 ABD00006025 V. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT - Continued 2. Safety Harness/Lanyard Use - continued (4) Any safety harness or lanyard that is found to contain a defect should be discarded. No one should use a safety harness or lanyard that has been dis carded, regardless of the intended use. g. Safety harness must be worn such that the attachment point for the lanyard is positioned in the middle of the back between the shoulders. Although safety harnesses are intended to reduce injury severity resulting from a fall, serious injury may still occur if the safety harness is worn incorrectly. h. In so far as possible, lanyards will be secured above the point of operation, to a structure capable of supporting the worker m case of a fall. i. Lanyards will be a minimum of 1/2-inch nylon rope or equivalent and shall be less than the fall distance, but not more than six feet in length (measured from the safety belt to the anchorage point.) j . Lanyards will only be used for employee safe guarding; lanyards will not be used as lifting device, chocker, etc. 8. Disposable Coveralls The disposable coveralls used at the Aberdeen Plant offer only limited personal protective qualities. They do not offer protection from chemical contact. Disposable coveralls are intended for the following uses: REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 12 ABD00006026 V. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT - Continued 8. Disposable Coveralls - continued 1. When an employee is performing a 30b task which has potential for other than incidental contact with greases and oils, disposable coveralls should be used. Disposable coveralls should not be used to protect clothing from incidental contact with grease and oil. 2. When the nature or location of a 30b task exposes an employee to excessive dust/resin, disposable cover alls should be used. Disposable coveralls should not be used to protect clothing from incidental contact with dust/resin Examples of jobs that might call for the use of disposable coveralls are changing dust collector socks, cleaning out rotary dryers, etc. Examples of jobs which may have some dust exposure but probably do not call for dis posable coveralls are stack sampling, loading railroad hopper cars, etc. Disposable coveralls are intended to offer a par ticular form of personal protection and should be reserved for that purpose. 9 . Bunker Gear ("Fireman's" Turn-Out'1 Gear) Due to the fact that the Aberdeen Plant uses flammable chemicals, there is a potential for fire in the plant. The employees of the Aberdeen Plant are trained in how to respond to fire situations. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 13 ABD00006027 v. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT - Continued 9. Bunker Gear ("Fireman's11 Turn-Out" Gear) - continued For employees involved in emergency response to fires, bunker gear is provided. Bunker gear is fire resistance gear like that worn by professional fire fighters. It will provide a measure of protection during a fire situa tion. BUNKER GEAR IS NOT FIRE PROOF, therefore it should not be assumed that while wearing bunker gear you can walk into the fire without injury. Bunker gear is made up of a fire fighter's helmet with attached faceshield, fire retardant hood, leather gloves, fire-fighter boots, a bunker coat, and bunker pants. ALL PIECES OF THE BUNKER GEAR MUST BE WORN AND WORN PROPERLY. The proper wearing of bunker gear is covered during fire training. If questions concerning the proper wearing of bunker gear do arise, they should be directed to the Shift Supervisor or Safety Department. Bunker gear shall be worn while responding to plant fires and may be called for during some training exercises. Bunker gear should not be worn simply to keep warm. It is reserved for fire fighting and fire training situa tions . 10. Winter Weather Protective Gear Due to the potential for extremely cold weather, winter weather gear may be called for to protect those employees whose job requires them to be outside for extended periods of time. Winter weather gear has only limited protective qualities. Therefore, other protective equip ment may be called for depending on the job task. REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 14 ABD00006028 V. PPE REFERENCE - ABERDEEN PLANT - Continued 10. Winter Weather_Protective Gear - continued Items which are normally considered as winter weather gear are insulated coveralls, hardhat winter liner, ski masks, and gloves (see Section III.A for details on gloves). The Department Heads will determine which of their employees should be furnished with company-issued winter weather gear. Once issued, the employee is ex pected to take care of the winter gear that was issued. Employees whose jobs do not require extended periods of outside work must furnish their own winter weather gear. The purchase of any safety shoes/boots, including insu lated boots, is covered by the Aberdeen Plant Safety Shoe Program and Policy 11 Respirators. Safety Glasses. Safety Shoes^__and Hearing Protection Additional specific information on respiratory protec tion, safety glasses, safety shoes, and hearing pro tection can be found in top specific procedures of the Safety and Health Manual. This information is located as follows: Respiratory Protection VSP 5 Safety Shoe Program VSP 11 Safety Glasses Program VSP 12 Hearing Conversation Program VSP 25 REVISION DATE: 10/06/95 VSP 35 Page 15