On October 8, 2024, at 8:15 p.m., a cylinder containing approximately 150 pounds of LIQUID anhydrous ammonia (NH3) exploded, seriously injuring four (4) employees at a plastics manufacturing facility. On the day of the incident, the facility planned to introduce anhydrous ammonia into equipment as part of a chemical treatment in preparation for turnaround maintenance…...
If you would not issue a PRCS entry permit to enter a space at 19.6% Oxygen, why the hell are we listing this range (19.5% – 23.5%) as acceptable for an unsuspecting entry supervisor? Why would we not just use 20% – 21% for an acceptable O2 concentration for an everyday supervisor who usually gets…...
SAFTENG Comment:A basement is NOT by definition a “confined space”. That does not mean that a basement cannot have a hazardous atmosphere. Argon is 1.38 times heavier than air and with NO ventilation designed to remove this gas from a basement, it will displace the Oxygen leading to this horrific event. So many failures in…...
On March 22, 2021, at approximately 12:30 p.m., an explosion and fire occurred at a Refinery. The explosion and fire seriously injured one contract worker Leading up to the incident, the refinery was shut down for turnaround maintenance. The planned maintenance work included removing a section of carbon steel piping in the Fluidized Catalytic Cracking…...
Respondent owns and operates a pet food ingredient manufacturing facility. Respondent reported three accidental releases to the National Response Center prior to EPA’s inspection. On January 9, 2023, Respondent reported a release of 12 pounds of anhydrous ammonia due to a safety release valve failure. On February 23, 2023, Respondent reported a release of 2…...
With a decrease in federal inspectors—from 846 in February 2024 to 736 in June 2025—OSHA is challenged in reaching the nation’s 11.6 million worksites.This challenge could compound due to staff attrition and other reductions. As we have reported since 2022, a lack of available inspectors can lead to fewer inspections, diminished enforcement in high-risk industries…...
Federal workplace safety officials have cited one of OSHA’s Top 5 VPP STAR businesses for multiple serious violations at its Greensboro facility following a fatal accident that killed a longtime employee last summer. The business has 1,006 VPP Sites, and yet, OSHA finds serious LOTO and PRCS issues after a PRCS fatality. The North Carolina…...
OSHA has issued a final decision to remove several withdrawn HAZLOC test standards from the NRTL Program’s List of Appropriate Test Standards. These final actions are detailed below in Table 1. Additionally, Table 1 lists the replacement test standard that OSHA has already incorporated into the NRTL Program’s List of Appropriate Test Standards (for informational…...
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A big part of an energy isolation/control plan for Line Break/Equipment Opening tasks is how to EVACUATE the stored energy after the isolation. In this case, it was STEAM that had cooled into hot condensate, which was NOT drained from the piping before work began to fix the steam leak. A VERY COMMON error made,…...
In many Line & Equipment Opening (LEO) safe work practices, some leeway will be granted to the workers AFTER the INITIAL “break” based on the level of ISOLATION they have protecting them. For example: A LEO has a double block and bleed arrangement on BOTH sides of the opening. During the initial “break,” the worker(s)…...
I recently participated in a LinkedIn discussion about “panic hardware” for EXIT doors from an NH3 Refrigeration mechanical room. The image shared (which the poster acknowledged fell short) was a push pad about the size of an adult’s hand. Here are the specifics for our (USA-based) panic hardware on EXIT doors:… Membership Required You must...
