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…...
Auditing Process Safety Management Systems Read More »
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…...
Flixborough Explosion (1974) Read More »
UPDATED 8/25/12 – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is aware of hazardous materials (HM) incidents involving Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) occurring during the transfer of these materials from cargo tanks to storage tanks, and vice-versa. One recent event was a release of NH3 that occurred in Swansea, South Carolina, during…...
(8/25/12 UPDATE from DOT) IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING (NH3) AND (LPG) HOSES Read More »
Incidents by Transportation Phase Category of DOT Incidents Transportation Phase Incidents Hospitalized Non-Hospitalized Fatalities Damages IN TRANSIT 1,751 0 21 5 $21,785,584 IN TRANSIT STORAGE 245 0 0 0 $509,083 LOADING 1,359 3 13 0 $2,094,525 UNLOADING 3,374 5 35 0 $13,485,293…...
Risks associated with Loading and Unloading HAZMAT Read More »
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…...
ANSI/ASME B31 – Standards of Pressure Piping Read More »
In the world of process safety, pressure vessel safety plays a major role! Yet many facilities do not have engineers available to them and thus some will struggle with which code(s) apply and what must be done to maintain their pressure vessel(s) in tip top safety shape. This is my cheat sheet that I have…...
The 12 sections of the Boiler Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) Read More »
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 –…...
EPA Region X RMP/EPCRA Actions April 1-June 30, 2012 Read More »
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…...
Process Safety and “Critical Utilities” Read More »
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…...
Has EPA established a new selection criteria for RMP inspections? Read More »
Ask a group of experienced engineers in ammonia refrigeration, ammonia fertilizer, and eletrical utilities if Post Weld Heat Treating (PWHT) is needed for vessels used in Anyhydrous Ammonia service and you will get a varying degree of answers. I am certainly not one to ask, but we do recommend PWHT for any new vessels put…...
MI Inspection of Anhydrous Ammonia Vessel (No PWHT) Read More »
