UPDATE on Seafood Plant NH3 Fatality (New Scene Pics)
The fatal release was from the bottom of the “pilot receiver” as shown below: NOTE: SAFTENG Members see the previous post for investigation details and regulatory citations.
EPA RMP Amendment Dates (as of 9/14/2018)
Based on the most recent court ruling and directions from EPA, here are the DUE DATES for the RMP Amendments as of today (note – courts could change this once again!)…
A deeper look into OSHA’s PSM vs. EPA RMP
Tried to summarize some of the key differences between EPA’s Risk Management Plan and OSHA’s PSM requirements and even threw in some CFATS info. Let’s start with EPA’s most recent numbers for a breakdown of the RMP Sites as of 2018 …
Process deviation indicators (i.e. alarms)
Imagine having a pressure vessel that has a MAWP of 300 psi and yet there is no high-pressure alarm before 300 psi is reached. How would an operator know he/she is approaching their consequence limit? As I wrote about earlier this year, a well-designed process will have both alarms – BEFORE the safe upper/lower operating
Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS): Ammonia (Anhydrous)
Any individual or facility that possesses 10,000 lb. or more or more of ammonia (anhydrous)—expected to be less than 10% water—must report their chemical holdings to DHS. DHS regulates security at high-risk chemical facilities under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program (6 CFR Part 27). CFATS ensures high-risk facilities have security measures in place to
Worker fatally injured when struck by pipe during pressure test
Incident summary A worker was completing a pressure test on the coil tube connector. The worker was positioned over the well head and was inadvertently contacted in the face by the test pipe, sustaining fatal injuries. Sequence of events
The Ventilation Design Basis begins with our intakes
All too often, when we ask for the “ventilation design basis” (1910.119(d)(3)(i)(E)) we are given some calculations from a 3rd party engineering group. These calculations demonstrate the fan sizing for the necessary air exchanges and flows; however, what these calculations do NOT provide us is the full design basis for the ventilation system. For me,
United States Court of Appeals vacates the RMP Amendments Delay Rule
The United States Court of Appeals, FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT has reversed EPA’s delay of the RMP Amendments. In its decision the courts states:
8-hr RMP Submittal Course
Are you tired of paying a consultant to prepare and submit your Risk Management Plan (RMP)? How about learning how to perform your Off-Site Consequence Analysis using FREE software? This course will teach you how to use RMP Comp software to determine your WCS and ARS distances, abiding by all the EPA requirements, and then
2018 BLEVE in Italy (MC331 LPG Tanker)
This week we saw an MC-331Tanker carrying Propane (i.e., LPG) rear-ended another truck on an interstate. The accident caused an immediate breach of the container and fire, which led to a BLEVE minutes later. This video contains the best footage I could find showing the actual BLEVE from two different directions of view and the
How do you update your RMP Emergency Contact info within a month when a replacement contact is not in place within one month?
Pursuant to the risk management program regulations, the owner or operator of a regulated stationary source is required to submit a correction within one month of any change in the emergency contact information (40 CFR §68.195(b)). What should the owner or operator do for the required correction if they do not have a replacement contact
Anhydrous Ammonia will BURN! (Video)
WARNING! NEVER, in your wildest dreams, EVER EVER do this!!!! But this video does show us the flammable properties of ammonia gas. Crazy I tell ya, just crazy – not to mention this is just NOT the way Hot Work was intended to be carried. SO MANY concerns – but I just wanted to demonstrate