At approximately 9:30 p.m. on or about July 31, Employee #1, a can and bottling operation maintenance technician, responded to a possible ammonia leak during the second shift at the plant. A 2,000-lb outside storage tank pumped ammonia into the line-filled room to cool the syrups to between 35 and 40 degrees F before the […]
This National Safety Alert provides an update to National Safety Alert No. 5, Cell Phone Results in Fire, dated March 6, 2002, which addressed a flash fire on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico OCS. As detailed in National Safety Alert No. 5, a contract panel specialist worked on an open platform master control
Cutting and welding processes using electric arcs or oxy-fuel gas flames are necessary for our industrial world. Too often, however, the persons who use, hire, or supervise the use of the processes do not fully appreciate that their improper use can result in the loss of life and property by fire and explosion. Approximately 6
INTRODUCTION Recent inspection programs for metallic pressure containment vessels and tanks have revealed cracking and damage in a considerable number of the vessels inspected. Safety and hazard evaluations of pressure vessels, as also presented in OSHA Instruction PUB 8-1.5, need to consider the consequences of a leakage or a rupture failure of a vessel. Two
In the realm of process safety, a Functional Test of the Safety Instrumented System (SIS) is a periodic procedure performed to ensure that an SIS will operate as designed when a real-world demand occurs. While a system might look operational on a control panel, internal “hidden” failures could prevent it from actually shutting down a
In determining threshold quantities for toxic chemicals, OSHA used the Gaussian dispersion model. OSHA made the following assumptions:
I encountered something new this week; well, new to me, as I have never seen an RT Rejection rate of 26%. So I knew that was crazy high, as the normal rate is around 2-3%. So I had to go back to my ASME B31 Course and research an acceptable rate:
On Tuesday, April 8, 1997, at approximately 8:59 a.m., a 5,700-gallon hydrochloric acid (HCl) storage tank ruptured during filling. The failure of the HCl tank caused a significant portion of its liquid contents (which totaled about 4,800 gallons of 31% HCl) to suddenly surge over the secondary containment. The force of the liquid also caused
This is one of the most commonly misunderstood RMP/PSM compliance issues for facilities that use rail cars as storage tanks and or use “tube trailers” as storage tanks. EPA has been clear since 1998 on how these rail cars that are hooked up to the process and those that are “stored on spurs” are to
Clarifications and Interpretations of the PSM Standard The guidance contained in this appendix is provided for compliance assistance. This appendix contains clarifications agreed to in a settlement agreement dated April 5, 1993, between OSHA, the United Steelworkers of America, the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, and the Building and Construction Trades Department of
Managing static electricity during the transfer of flammable liquids is based on the fluid’s conductivity, measured in picosiemens per meter (pS/m). High-conductivity liquids dissipate charge quickly, while low-conductivity liquids (static accumulators) hold onto the charge, creating a spark hazard. The following table summarizes the maximum flow velocities recommended by NFPA 77 and API 2003 to
