Chemical Process Safety (PSM/RMP)

UPDATED on 9/2/12… Is there an OSHA PSM or EPA RMP requirement that liquid ammonia piping/equipment that can trap the liquid be equipped with a proper type and sized releif device or can a “qualified refrigeration technician” take the place of a relief device?  This question has been debated within the refrigeration industry PSM/RMP circles for…...

Those who deal with OSHA’s PSM and EPA’s RMP regulations on a daily basis know all about the 3-year audit schedule we are required to maintain; but what many professionals responsible for PSM/RMP compliance may not know, is there are as many BAD audits done each year as there are GOOD audits.  Sadly, we get…...

OSHA has cited a natural gas producer for one willful and seven serious PSM violations following an explosion and fire that severely burned a worker. OSHA began its investigation Feb. 29 at the company’s facility which specializes in the production of liquid natural gas through a cryogenic process. The incident occurred while employees were restarting…...

The Flixborough disaster was an explosion at a chemical plant close to the village of Flixborough (near Scunthorpe), Humberside orignally Lindsey, Lincolnshire (now North Lincolnshire), England, on 1 June 1974. It killed 28 people and seriously injured 36. At 16:53 on Saturday 1 June 1974, the temporary bypass pipe (containing cyclohexane at 150°C (302°F) and…...

B31 Code for pressure piping, developed by American Society of Mechanical Engineers – ASME, covers Power Piping, Fuel Gas Piping, Process Piping, Pipeline Transportation Systems for Liquid Hydrocarbons and Other Liquids, Refrigeration Piping and Heat Transfer Components and Building Services Piping.    ASME B31 was earlier known as ANSI B31. B31.1 – 2001 – Power Piping…...

The Utah Olympic Park agreed to pay a $7,000 fine this month after an EPA inspection found violations with the nonprofit’s documentation for handling anhydrous ammonia, a regulated, toxic chemical used to refrigerate the bobsled track over the winter months.  PLEASE NOTE there appears to be some inaccuracies in this news paper article.  CLICK HERE…...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed 38 enforcement actions from April 1 through June 30, 2012 to ensure individuals, businesses, and governments comply with the nation’s laws that protect public health and the environment.  Of the 38 actions: – 2 were RMP related to Anhydrous Ammonia refrigeration processes for a total of $47,633 –…...

What is meant by the term “critical utilities” when used in context with process safety?  I like to define the term as any utility that plays a safety role within the covered process.  Probably the most common “critical utility” is the use of nitrogen within a flammable liquid process, where nitrogen is used for blanketing…...

This week EPA put out a news release regarding an RMP inspection at an Ethanol plant in CO.  But this news release had something in it that I had never seen before in the hundreds of RMP news releases I have read since 1999.  The news release contained a breakdown of the demographics within the…...