Last month, I wrote Before we can achieve a ZES, we must first define and quantify what precisely a form of “hazardous energy” is, and this week, I posted the MSHA accident investigation report where water in an abandoned chilled water system 1600′ underground was opened and the water, pressurized by the head pressure alone, was enough to knock a miner out of the aerial lift causing a fatal fall. Both of these articles and a question asked in our Facebook group regarding hot oil temps and hazards have again caused me to ask…
When does a fluid become a hazard? Far too many facilities have not crossed this line in their maturity of PPE Hazard Assessment and Lockout/Tagout.
I hope these articles and the SAFTENG social media group discussions will cause many to question. Without asking the question and then QUANTIFYING the HAZARD, we leave a lot of workers exposed to potentially a serious hazard.
And although the high temps of fluids get most of the attention, the low temps (e.g., cryogenic liquids) also pose serious hazards).
And when you think you have the right temp for defining a hazard at your facility, do the following: