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 […]
A process worker and colleague were preparing for a scheduled maintenance task in the ammonia storage area of a processing plant.As part of a routine purging operation, the process worker connected a flexible rubber hose via a coupling to a purge connection point. The purge hose was charged with nitrogen, and the valve was being
The two (2) leading causes of ammonia releases are:
This is a GREAT study, although it was not an extensive study. But when I learned of it from Pete Cutbush, I found the research and thought it was spot on; although that may be my biases shining through. As I was taught by all my former business leaders, leading with safety can influence ALL
Some industries’ RAGAGEPs will call out the risk of using a butterfly valve as an energy isolation device due to its propensity to “leak by”. In this incident, the valve catastrophically failed, releasing NH3, resulting in a worker and a contractor being hospitalized. I do not know if the valve was locked out, but that
Respondent is the owner and operator of a facility that stores and circulates anhydrous ammonia through two refrigeration systems at its facility and, therefore, is engaged in a process at its facility. On or about September 13, 2023, a representative of the EPA conducted an inspection of the Respondent’s Facility to determine compliance with Section
One of the most prominent mistakes organizations make when implementing their Behavior-Based Safety Process (BBSP) is that they still operate under 1990s-era assumptions regarding how they view and manage incident reporting and investigation and the behaviors of personnel involved in those undesired events. An improperly implemented and managed BBSP can create numerous biases, with the
On January 30, 2025, Employee #1 was working at a trailer truck wash business and had been subcontracted to clean out a trailer tank using a water hose. The business specialized in washing out livestock haulers. Employee #1 entered the tank to continue cleaning. A coworker noticed Employee #1 lying on his side at the
UPDATED on 8/8/25 with OSHA Citations (All are being contested) At approximately 9:34 a.m. on January 10, 2025, an employee, 35, was directed to enter a 23,737-gallon rail tank car containing residues of PCBs and transformer oil to obtain wipe samples of the interior surfaces. The rail tank car was a permit-required confined space. The
Disclaimer: I am NO LONGER a fan of Powered-Air Purifying Respirators (PAPRs). It is not the PAPR’s fault; it is the science behind the increased desire to use PAPRs for all the wrong reasons and how this could be bad news for the users. PAPRs have become increasingly popular over the past decade or so
Auditing! Whether it’s internal (1st party), 2nd party, or 3rd Party, auditing at a CONSISTENT FREQUENCY is a true sign that management is committed to safety. If the management team asks… “Does OSHA require this audit?”
This aspect of respiratory protection is a SAFETY CRITICAL path when using Air Purifying Respirators (APRs), and in my experience, it is rarely done correctly when it is done at all. I teach my program administrators to do precisely what NIOSH has been stating since 2004. When using the Change Out software, use 1 ppm
