Chemical Process Safety (PSM/RMP)

For several years now, with OSHA and EPA have issued bulletins/alerts regarding Excess Flow Valves.  These alerts/bulletins warned against placing too much faith in these valves when it comes to PREVENTING a “catastrophic release”.  These valves do not have a history of failing because of defects, they have a history of failing due to IMPROPER […]

OSHA has published a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding their REVISED PSM Retail Exemption Policy.  The questions they answer are:

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on November 4, 2003, Employee #1 was filling a nurse tank from the bulk anhydrous ammonia tank at the ammonia plant. After the nurse tank was full, Employee #1 disconnected the hoses from the nurse tank and was exposed to anhydrous ammonia. The exposure resulted in burn injuries to his face,

As the car industry learns that the “mildly flammable” refrigerant (per ASHARE 34) HFO-1234yf is actually a Category 1 Extremely Flammable Gas (per the manufacturer’s SDS and 1910.1200) and those facilities who have over 10,000 pounds of HFO-1234yf fall under PSM (1910.119), it is becoming a less and less attractive global warming (GW) alternative.  And

With all the recent changes in the Process Safety community within the USA, I have been getting a lot of questions regarding pressure vessels and what to expect when it comes to how they play a role in PSM/RMP programs.  These vessels pose our greatest risk within our process as they contain the majority of

On the night of October 23, 2009, a large explosion occurred at the Caribbean Petroleum Corporation (CAPECO) facility in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, during offloading of gasoline from a tanker ship, the Cape Bruny, to the CAPECO tank farm onshore. A 5-million gallon aboveground storage tank (AST) overflowed into a secondary containment dike. The gasoline spray

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how the Process Safety Information (PSI) “Safe Upper and Lower Limits” will differ from those “Safe Upper and Lower Operating Limits” found in our Operating Procedures.  The article needed to be written as it received over 10,000 hits, and the e-mails continued with positive comments and more

PSM Retail Exemption Interim Enforcement Policy Employer(s) with employee(s) exposed to PSM-covered processes formerly exempted under OSHA’s 1992 interpretation of “retail facility” now must comply with the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.119 if the facility, or portion of the facility processing the highly hazardous chemical, does not fall into the North American Industrial Classification System

There’s a reason why both OSHA and EPA have requirements to CONTROL the entry of contractors into our covered process(s), their presence, and their exit from the process.  It is so IMPORTANT, we find two (2) places in the standards that require this kind of CONTROL over contractors who wish to work ON, IN, or

One of the most popular PSM requests I get is for an example of a “change to facilities that affect a covered process”.  In this article, I hope to provide an actual example and how a “change to facilities” can affect an ammonia refrigeration facility.  OSHA’s PSM standard states the following about managing changes… (l)

CLICK HERE for the pdf.  Many thanks to the CALOSHA Pressure Vessel Unit for sharing.