Respondent owns and operates an agricultural storage and supply facility. On August 16, 2016, an accidental release of anhydrous ammonia occurred at Respondent’s Facility when filling a storage tank. The release resulted in the hospitalization of an employee. 22. On or about March 12, 2019, representatives of the EPA conducted an inspection of Respondent’s Facility […]
Many years ago I had an open debate with a “grandfather of refrigeration” on his turf in front of about 30 other refrigeration professionals and the debate was about “flange connections”, ASME B16, and TORQUE and how it all applied to covered processes regardless of what the HHC/EHS was, including anhydrous ammonia in a refrigeration
So what is the Assigned-Protection Factor (APF) for an air-line respirator, commonly used inside PRCSs which has, or has the potential to have an IDLH atmosphere? Is it 1,000 or 10,000? I have always been taught/trained that the simple air-line respirator (Pressure-demand/Positive pressure mode) WITHOUT the Auxilary/Back-up cylinder the APF is 1,000, but the addition
My January article “What does a “suitable telltale indicator” look like when we have a dual relief system” was a hit as I received numerous requests for information on how to get these special gauges. As I promised each of you in the ammonia refrigeration industry, here is what I have used on my NH3
On December 30, 2019, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Inspectors working offshore discovered that a level safety high had been improperly deactivated with a zip tie, resulting in the issuance of a P-103 incident of noncompliance (INC). There have been multiple instances across the Gulf of Mexico in which operators have failed
Although this Coast Gaurd Bulletin is specific to maritime vessels, it can and should be applied to relief valves on land as well. There are some really good practices in this bulletin, such as when to perform the test in-situ vs. bench testing. The incident happened when a relief valve on the associated compressor was
At 4:30 p.m. on March 26, 2019, a contractor working at an asphalt refinery in AL entered a Permit-Required Confined Space to take a video of a reactor section when he lost air supply and was asphyxiated. OSHA cited the industrial contractor for failing to ensure personnel outside the PRCS were capable of providing effective
At 8:30 a.m. on June 15, 2019, a worker employed by a painting contractor was setting up equipment to abrasive blast electrode holders. He connected the abrasive blasting hood to a line that was supplying nitrogen rather than one supplying compressed air. He inhaled nitrogen instead of breathable air and was asphyxiated.
Sometime in the late afternoon of July 3rd, two workers entered the water main vault at the intersection of Highways 70 and 100 in North Carolina. The two were employees of a Backhoe and Landscaping business and were working with several employees to extend a 24″ main water line. While the vault they entered and
Another Fatality OSHA Case file involving a Water Valve Pit (Hazard Information Bulletin regarding Asphyxiation Hazard in Pits: Potential Confined Space Problem) – a SINGLE entrant (the job foreman), a would-be-rescuer, and potentially another would-be-rescuer. The water valve pit was 7 ft in diameter and 16 ft deep. The vault contained a 12″ water main
A few weeks ago we were debating in my FaceBook Group about these vaults being a PRCS. The picture in question (shown to the left – full scale in the article) had a working platform just a little more than 4′ down inside the vault, but the fixed ladder went all the way down to
We go all the way back to 1996 and OSHA issued a Hazard Information Bulletin regarding Asphyxiation Hazard in Pits: Potential Confined Space Problem. Fast forward 23 years later and we have this: At 2:23 p.m. on July 8, 2019, a worker employed by a utilities construction company was working in an underground vault. He
