Safety Info Posts

My take on Louisville Explosion

The Courier-Journal has released more photos. Below is my analysis of these photos, using their and Google Maps road images. The first image below is the PRE-EXPLOSION image. In it, we can see the two (2) standing cooling towers/condensers. The one in the blue box is the one that was destroyed and came to rest…...

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Management’s 3Cs

A few years ago, I put forth the idea that workers pass through the 3 Cs in their decision-making process as they learn to take more and more risks.  Those three (3) Cs were: That article stirred quite a bit of debate among the SAFTENG community and so I thought it was time to share…...

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What am I? #1

For each one of my Advanced SMS courses, I always start the course by having the students list the 16 Elements of the SAFTENG Safety Process/SMS in order of importance.  I tell them there is no right or wrong answer.  Over the past couple of years, I began to keep the answers to the questions…...

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Catastrophic Failure of Pressure Vessel (Again?)

This week, we saw a fatal explosion in Louisville, KY. This same facility, albeit under a previous ownership, had a catastrophic failure of a PV in 2003. The photos coming out of the post-analysis of this week’s event look to be a similar type of explosion. CLICK HERE to see the pics. Here is my…...

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EPA RMP FY 2024 PARTIAL YEAR RESULTS

Inspections As of the 3rd quarter of the fiscal year (Q3), EPA completed 133 CAA Section 112(r) (Risk Management Program) inspections. Enforcement Cases As of the 3rd quarter of the fiscal year (Q3), EPA took action at 73 facilities to decrease the likelihood of chemical accidents.  Sasol Chemicals: In April 2024, EPA finalized a settlement…...

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What is a “flash point”?

I teach about a dozen flammable liquid courses annually, and it is one of my favorite courses to teach, as I love the technical side of hazardous materials. And my course always starts with a discussion around the 1st step in making a flammable liquid a hazardous material… FLASH POINT. And over the 30+ years,…...

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Work dies and “would-be rescuer” severely injured in Tank Truck incident

On January 18, 2024, at 9:15 a.m., Employee #1, 37, was working inside a 7,000-gallon tanker trailer. Employee #1 was tasked with inspecting the damage to the interior of the tanker. Employee #1 was in the early stages of the tank inspection when he lost consciousness. A coworker noticed Employee #1 lost consciousness, and s/he…...

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Chain hoist used inside PRCS results in fatality

On April 3, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., an employee, 44, working as a plant operator for a building materials manufacturer was reinstalling mixer blades onto the shaft inside a Vince Hagan HM-10 Horizontal Concrete Mixer. The employee had been on a crew between January 2024 and April 2024 engaged in the shaft and blade replacement…...

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OSHRC affirms LOTO Citations in mill worker’s death

This is a MUST READ for safety professionals engaged in developing, implementing, and managing a LOTO program. The facility was doing everything RIGHT in terms of program, procedures, and training; yet a worker violated LOTO in the presence of the Shift Supervisor who had only been in his role for 1-month. The OSHRC laid out…...

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EPA RMP citations @ agricultural products facility (NH3 & $119K)

Respondent is the owner and operator of a facility that stores, manufactures, and distributes agricultural products, including anhydrous ammonia. The threshold quantity for anhydrous ammonia, as listed in 40 C.F.R. § 68.130, is 10,000 pounds. On or about August 22-23, 2023, a representative of the EPA conducted an inspection of the Respondent’s Facility to determine…...

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