Bryan Haywood

Employer pleads guilty to criminal charges after CalOSHA investigation into deadly nitrogen leak

Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations referred the case to Los Angeles County District Attorney after double fatality A food company pleaded guilty to two (2) misdemeanor counts after being criminally charged in connection with the 2020 deaths of two (2) workers fatally exposed to nitrogen gas. The victims died after a malfunction in the facility’s nitrogen…...

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Inspections vs Audits (Part II)

Last year, I shared Part I regarding the difference between the two words: Audit and Inspection. Today, I want to explain how and why OSHA/EPA “inspect” and we “audit” our PSM/RMP-covered processes. To put it bluntly, an OSHA/EPA “inspection” does NOT and will NEVER replace our 3-year PSM/RMP audits. Both EPA and OSHA require RMP/PSM-covered…...

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Chemical Accident Risk Reduction NECI Goal FY 2024 RESULTS (NH3 and HF)

Launched in 2017, this Chemical Accident Risk Reduction National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative (NECI) seeks to reduce risks to human health and the environment by decreasing the likelihood of chemical accidents. This will be achieved by addressing significant noncompliance with the general duty to maintain a safe environment and risk management plan rules. Given the…...

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What does an RMP $10M SEP look like?

The SEP will provide the emergency response equipment to the identified emergency response organizations to assist them in responding to emergencies in the communities where the Covered Refineries operate and where chemical processes are undertaken that the CAA regulates. XXXXX is obligated to expend Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000), which includes all administrative costs associated with…...

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A look inside an EPA Consent Decree for HAZWOPER

I still do about a dozen 24 or 40-hr HAZMAT Tech courses and dozens of 8-hr Refreshers each year. And in each class, it never fails that someone will ask the question… Does OSHA/EPA actually require that? Backstory: I’ve been on the ERT for 20 years, and this is the first time I’ve heard this…....

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What constitutes “significant property damage on site?”

Under the hazard assessment requirements at 40 CFR Part 68, Subpart B, the owner or operator of a covered stationary source must document a five-year accident history that includes all accidental releases from covered processes that resulted in deaths, injuries, or significant property damage on site, or known offsite deaths injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place,…...

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Are chemicals in a tank car exempt from threshold determinations under 40 CFR Part 68 (RMP)?

Back to an old question that continues to be asked… Are chemicals in a tank car exempt from threshold determinations under 40 CFR Part 68 (RMP)? The definition of stationary source does not apply to transportation, including storage incident to transportation (40 CFR Section 68.3).  Are chemicals in a tank car (e.g., tanker truck or…...

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Red Light Therapy Wraps are NOT “First-Aid”

OSHA was asked… whether the use of LED (light emitting diode) red light therapy and red light therapy wraps constitute first aid for purposes of OSHA recordkeeping regulations, and also whether this technology could be added to the list of first aid treatments under section 1904.7(b)(5)(ii). OSHA’s response is:… Membership Required You must be a...

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EPA RMP Citations @ chemical manufacturing plant (Oleum, SO2, H2SO4, ATS & $174K)

Respondent owns and operates a chemical manufacturing plant that produces oleum, anhydrous sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, and ammonium thiosulfate. Respondent re-submitted an RMP for the Facility on February 11, 2022 (2022 RMP) that identifies the following three covered processes that are subject to the Program 3 requirements of the CAPP:a. Oleum Process, which contains the…...

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Line Break Gone Bad (Cutting into live NH3 pipe)

This stunt has to be one of the riskiest I have seen in my 30+ years in Process Safety. They knew it was a live line, but why it was live is anyone’s guess. It looks as if this may be a “Demolition” job without a pump down, or maybe the plant was just down…...

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Worker Fatality During Attempted Removal of Blind Flange on Cooling Water System

On October 21, 2015, two mechanical technicians were involved in an incident while attempting to remove a blind flange from supply piping on a Magnet Cooling Water (MCW) System. The mechanical technicians were assisting a welder in obtaining final measurements to make the final connections from the MCW system to a new Cell 14 cryostat…...

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