This week we got word that the Olin Corp has announced that they will be reconfiguring their Henderson, NV facility to make bleach. This is the facility that in 1991 when owned and operated by Pioneer Chlor Alkali Company, Inc. had the largest Chlorine release on record, 70-100 tons of chlorine. The response to the […]
Imagine my surprise when reading the latest edition of “Chemical Process Safety (Fourth Edition), Learning from Case Histories“, August 2015, by Roy E. Sanders when I came across a very nice mention of SAFTENG.net. In 2014 I received some very nice feedback from Mr. Sanders regarding my work with the Incident Alerts and my Process Safety
One of the weakest elements in OSHA’s PSM and EPA’s RMP standards is the Incident Investigation element. Anyone who has performed a PHA or Audit can tell you that the difference of opinions range from aggressive to the criminally insane! Personally I have heard some of the lamest excuses for not investigating Loss of Primary
The accident occurred on Friday 6/14/2013 at around 6 p.m. in a section of the plant that had been shut for maintenance when a nitrogen vessel ruptured during off-loading. The blast killed one worker and sent seven others to the hospital. OSHA investigated and issued the following 5(a)(1) citation regarding the design of the process
As the debate rages on whether an intervening valve can be placed between a relief valve and the vessel it is protecting, I offer up NFPA 59A as another source for the answer YES. In fact, NFPA 59A (2016) requires either a stop valve or RV tree so that the RV’s can be changed without
When establishing our Hazardous Locations (HAZLOC) we utilize a Recognized And Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practice (RAGAGEP) such as NFPA 497, Recommended Practice for the Classification of Flammable Liquids, Gases, or Vapors and of Hazardous (Classified) Locations for Electrical Installations in Chemical Process Areas or there is also API RP500, Recommended Practice for Classification of Locations
Potential PSM scope items: Clarifying the exemption for atmospheric storage tanks Removing the exemption for Oil- and Gas-Well Drilling and Servicing Resuming Enforcement for Oil and Gas Production Facilities Covering reactive chemical hazards Updating and expanding the list of HHCs in Appendix A of the existing PSM standard Covering dismantling and disposal of explosives and
The research reported here assessed the costs and benefits of the proposed California process safety management (PSM) and California Accidental Release Prevention regulations that are designed to improve safety at oil and gas refineries in California. The authors estimate these costs and benefits in four categories: costs to industry (to implement the regulation), costs to
The SPAR-H method applied in this study could analyze and quantify the potential human errors and extract the required measures for reducing the error probabilities in PTW system. Some suggestions to reduce the likelihood of errors, especially in the field of modifying the performance shaping factors and dependencies among tasks are provided. The PTW process
At a brewery, the base plate-to-shell weld seam of a 90-m3 vertical cylindrical steel tank failed catastrophically. The 4-ton tank “took off” like a rocket leaving its contents behind, and landed on a van, crushing it. The top of the tank reached a height of 98′. The internal overpressure responsible for the failure was an
3/31/2016 UPDATE – The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office says the cause of an explosion and fire is undetermined. Their investigation is complete and they have turned matters over to the insurance company(s). 3/14/2016 UPDATE – Best video yet (however it is one of the workers we saw in a previous video standing too close)
Questions include… Why is EPA proposing amendments to the RMP rule? How is EPA’s proposal related to efforts to implement EO 13650? What are the impacts from accidents at RMP facilities? What requirements are included in the proposal? Has EPA discussed these proposed changes with stakeholders or other federal agencies? How will EPA engage stakeholders
