Fracktivists Celebrate Cancellation of Gas Leases in NE PA
July 20, 2013Caught in the Drill Zone
July 21, 2013Vera Scroggins, of Citizens for Clean Water, writes:
I called OSHA months ago to check out the silica dust clouds on the frack sites and they inspected the WPX Gas Site known as Wootton at 1283 Mill Road, Liberty, Pa. 16930 on 4/4/2013 and citation issued on 6/19/2013. The Company fracking is Halliburton Energy Service, Inc.
Citation is :
29 CFR 1910.1000(c): The employer did not ensure that an employee’s exposure to any substance listed in table Z-3, in any 8-hour work shift of a 40 hour work week, did not exceed the 8-hour time weighted average limit given for that substance in the table.
a) Halliburton Energy Service: An employee, Sand Counter, was exposed to respirable crystalline silica at an 8-hour time-weighted average of 0.585 milligrams per cubic meter of air, approximately 1.5 times the calculated Permissible Exposure Limit of 0.394 milligrams per cubic meter of air. Sampling was performed for 231 minutes on April 4, 2013.
Date by Which Violation Must Be Abated: 9/22/2013
Proposed Penalty : $5610.00
OSHA US Dept. of Labor Inspection no: 899235
This is the first time I know of that OSHA has inspected our county and found a violation. There are only 2 inspectors from the Wilkes Barre, Pa. office for 20 counties !! OSHA office has not received more funding for more inspectors and could use them.
They recommend methods of control like:
- Utilize alternative proppants.
- Utilize dust collection systems ( bag houses ) to capture the silica dust ejected from thief hatches on top of sand movers during refilling operations.
- Discontinue practice of transferring sand from trucks to sand movers while employees are working on top of the sand movers and/or adjacent to the thief hatches.
HALLIBURTON has to be told to do this after how many years of FRACKING and what about the neighbors living next to and near these fracking sites??!! Who is protecting or watching over their SILICA Exposure??
Halliburton has to do a whole plan of abatement of engineering measures to control this situation with silica (Must be abated by 9/22/13).
POSTING: A copy of the Citation must be posted immediately in a prominent place at or near the location of the violation.
Here are some of the documents on this case:
