SF State's Facilities Planning and Operations must remedy 13 Cal/OSHA safety violations or inform the agency of its intent to do so by tomorrow to avoid penalties of up to $1,00 a day until the in fractions are corrected.
Cal/OSHA -- California Occupational Safety and Health -- inspected Plant Operation facilities on March 14 and cited the department for having a backpack-style leaf and grass blower in a hazardous condition.
Eleven other violations were classified as "general" and the two regarding the blower were classified as "serious," according to the citations.
"There is a substantial probability that an injury to an employee can occur," said Dianne Diensten of Cal/OSHA.
Henry Queen, the campus safety officer responsible for correcting safety violations and preventing others from occurring, would not comment on whether the violations would be corrected by tomorrow's deadline.
The 11 general violations include failing to maintain an accident prevention program, falling to notify Cal/OSHA immediately after an employee received a serious eye injury in November 1983 and other problems such as leaving a rake with a broken handle in a work area.
"There is a general feeling that safety is not a big issue around here," said Brian Young, a supply and receiving employee and member of the Plant Operations Safety Committee.
The blower was a fire hazard because its gas cap allows fuel to leak out of the tank and possibly onto the hot exhaust manifold below.
The second violation was caused by gas deposits on the surface of the blower's hoses and fittings.
According to the Cal/OSHA report the machine "was not properly maintained as recommended by the manufacturer."
Plant Operation's back pack blowers have a history of safety problems.
In 1983, grounds keeper Merlwyn Bennington burned his arm on a blower exhaust manifold after the machine's shoulder strap broke.
A short time later, another groundskeeper was using a blower when it caught on fire.
The worker was not injured.
Last year, groundskeeper Renee.
Lange was reprimanded for refusing to use a blower because he felt it was - unsafe.
But Cal/OSHA inspectors are not the only state officials who have found safety problems in Plant Operations this semester.
In January, the State Fire Marshall issued two correction notices to supply and receiving.
One citation was for storing large amounts of flammable materials inside the building without a fireproof cabinet.
The second was for charging the batteries of an electric forklift inside the shop.
Because the building is not vented and is heated by open flame gas heaters, the fire marshal ruled the situation potentially hazardous because the fumes could be ignited by a spark from the charging operation.
The supply and receiving building still remains unvented three months after the fire marshall issued the citations, according to Young.
It is the only unvented building used by Plant Operations, he said.
At one time, Young added, a dozen five-gallon drums of naphtha, a flammable petroleum used by university printing as a cleaning solution, were stored in the building.
[ back to Golden Gater Online May 2, 1986 ]
[ back to top ]