“Wolf Syndrome” in the context of false alarms refers to a pattern where repeated false alerts cause people to stop responding, even when a real danger appears. It’s based on the classic “crying wolf” concept and is widely discussed in psychology, emergency management, and safety‑system design. The term is not a medical diagnosis—it’s a metaphorical […]
The dome failed at a repair patch that had been improperly welded and did not provide the minimum thickness needed to contain the dome’s operating pressure. The steel mill’s mechanical integrity program lacked effective inspection and weld repair practices, contributing to the incident. In iron manufacturing, a blast furnace operates at high temperatures to convert
Updates to align with the UN’s GHS Revision 7 begin taking effect this month. Manufacturers and importers must have updated labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for chemical substances. Employers have until July 2026 to ensure their onsite programs and training reflect these revised classifications.
In March 2026, NIOSH issued a formal request for information to update the IDLH Value Profiles. While ammonia has an established IDLH of 300 ppm, the agency is seeking new toxicology and human health effects data to refine these values. The Focus: The RFI specifically looks for “weight-of-evidence” data on how chemical modes of action—such
I stumbled across this international study regarding community effects from a large scale NH3 release in 2022. The study wanted to validate or in-validate community complaints years after the event. Residents, numbers unknown, had been complaining of “loss of smell” after being exposed to hundreds of ppm’s of NH3. The study was interesting in that
We continue to see NH3 LOPC events from piping and piping components. We could debate whether PSM/RMP has had an impact on this industrial sector. I have no idea what actually failed nor do I know the failure mode. What I do know is that NH3 makes the news weekly. Compared to Chlorine, #2 HHC/EHS
I really struggle to understand how so many smart people that use the acronym “PSI” dozens of times a day, but never really grasp what it means. I have debated this topic hundreds of times as it always comes up in my LOTO and Process Safety courses and daily work I do in these safety
On March 9, 2009, Employee #1 was testing a newly-installed 6 in. steel fire protection water main. When it was pressurized with air, a 6 in. pipe cap flew off the end of the pipe and struck Employee #1’s forehead, killing him. Violations/Penalties Serious Total Initial Violations 5 5 Current Violations 3 3 Initial Penalty
On May 4, 2013, Employee #1, a 40-year-old male construction worker was blinded by a test plug that burst while conducting a leak test on a new 4″ diameter sewer line which was made of cast iron. Employee #1 said that he inserted a 2″ diameter by 2′ long test plug into the new cast
Employee #1 was a maintenance technician at a company that performs epitaxial processes for semiconductor manufacturing. He reported to work in the fabrication area and was briefed by a coworker, also a maintenance technician, about the day’s projects. After a few minutes, other workers began to smell a strong chemical odor, and some saw a
At approximately 7:30 a.m. on November 2, 2007, a technician in building Number II was conducting weld-penetration tests with a chemical solution containing 95-percent ethyl nitric acid (70-percent concentration). An old container of the solution in a storage can that had been stored on a bottom shelf fell and broke when the lower shelf in
At approximately 9:30 a.m. on April 24, 2019, an employee was receiving a chemical. The vendor connected the nitric acid to the chlorine tank. Because it was mislabeled, it caused a reaction with a cloud that affected seven (7) other employees.
