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.
With this week’s event in Japan, where the roofs of the flammable liquid storage tanks were blown off, I shared OSHA’s “emergency venting” requirements to explain why the roofs were off the tanks, which sparked a lot of sidebar discussions. Sizing these emergency venting options is quite easy, as I explain in this article with
As I say each year, the International Fire Code (IFC) is being used in 42 states, D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico. This code, dating all the way back to 1993 when I began my career in chemical processing, has always required much of what we apply in OSHA PSM/EPA RMP to processes that operate FAR
Yes, both terms essentially mean the same thing, but they refer to very different hazardous atmospheres. LEL, or Lower Explosive Limit, applies to gases and Vapors. MEC, which is Minimum Explosive Concentration, deals with Combustible Dusts. Here are some other differences:
I used AI, specifically Gemini Plus and Super Grok, to create this image from an OSHA Case File, and I was impressed. Now the image is going to be shocking, but this is a very good depiction of what was described in the case file. And I’ll bet a burger and a beer that this
I was recently involved with an organization that had an issue with overpressuring a 330-gallon plastic tote during their evacuation of their HHC/EHS for process work. So we had a nice discussion about the DIFFERENCE between “draining” and “venting”. The chemical in question is normally a “gas” but is stored as a liquid under pressure.
These sleeves/pouches are a really handy tool for managing work permits. SDSs, etc., while making them highly visible. In my facilities, we used contractor work permits to control entry, scope of work, and exit for our covered processes. But most contractors had to obtain additional safe work permits for their specific work. And most of
As we have discussed before, this old saying is one that has stuck with me from the mid-1990’s when I learned it a process piping course. Catchy phrase – easy to remember. And I still use it, although my 2023 post made it clear it may be a thing of the past. So I asked
A little trick you can use when you think you have come across a misaligned flange. No special tools needed, just the key to your house! We recently came across this flange during a process walkdown and pointed it out. Some folks wanted to debate whether it was misaligned. I was 100% confident it was
3-way valves have grown in popularity over the past 10-15 years, as they have begun to find their way into relief systems. Today, codes allow “relief trees” to be used, so Pressure Safety Valves can be changed out without emptying and degassing the vessel. The 3-way valve is the means by which the PSV is
