OSHA for safety hazards at New Hampshire brewery following fatality caused by April keg explosion

CONCORD, N.H. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Portland, Ore.-based Craft Brew Alliance Inc. with 14 alleged serious violations of workplace safety standards following the April 24 death of an employee at the company's Redhook Brewery in Portsmouth.

The employee was using a compressed air line to purge liquid from the interior of a plastic keg when the keg exploded and fatally struck him.An investigation by OSHA's Concord Area Office determined that the explosion resulted from excess air pressure introduced into the keg from the keg cleanout line. The line lacked an air regulator that would have limited its air pressure to less than 60 PSI, or pounds per square inch, which is the maximum air pressure limit recommended by keg manufacturers.

In this case, OSHA also found that other employees who used the cleanout line were exposed to the same hazard while cleaning out steel kegs.

Craft brewer cited by US Labor Department's OSHA for safety hazards at New Hampshire brewery following fatality caused by April keg explosion