EPA developed the following key safety measures for the inspection of ammonia refrigeration systems and reviewed them with the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration. These are measures that EPA has determined should be in place, regardless of an ammonia refrigeration system’s age or size. This is not intended to be a complete list of important […]
At 11:50 a.m. on October 21, 2021, an employee, 51, was assisting his coworkers in troubleshooting the fresh hydrogen fluoride (HF) system to the vaporizer. The employee was looking at an actuator that was across from a whisping flange when the flange failed, and hydrogen fluoride was sprayed on him. The employee screamed, and his
A hydrocarbon leak caused the fire at a California refinery on February 1, 2025. The leak occurred while two workers were opening equipment for maintenance.
The Kentucky agency that oversees boiler safety claims the plant operated a vessel that exploded without a proper inspection permit. The Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction found that the cooker that exploded was installed without a required permit that would have triggered a state inspection. https://www.wdrb.com/wdrb-investigates/criminal-charges-could-apply-to-inspection-failure-before-fatal-louisville-plant-explosion-official-says/article_704fb426-e566-11ef-a8a2-87af2efe4771.html
B31.3 requires that each piping system be leak-tested to ensure tightness prior to initial operation [¶345.1]. B31 imposes certain restrictions on the types of leak tests which may be used, some general requirements for conducting leak tests, some preparation requirements for leak tests, some specific requirements for each type of leak test, and some record
Failures in effective process safety leadership/process safety management can be linked to historical Major Accident Hazard (MAH) events such as Piper Alpha, Buncefield and Texas City amongst others. In 2018, HSE flagged concerns about the offshore industry regarding stagnating safety performance and challenged the industry to respond, leading to the adoption of the Principles of
I am always amazed at the lack of a basic understanding of atmospheric pressure and process pressures/vacuums. My Intermediate 3-Day PS course and my Advanced 5-Day PS course have a single slide, and every time, I find I have to spend an hour explaining to the class what PSIG is and how it’s different from
High-hazard Group H occupancies are characterized by a greater degree of explosion, fire, or health hazard than typical commercial and industrial uses. There is one common feature of Group H occupancies: they are designated as Group H because they contain excessive quantities of hazardous materials. Where the quantities of hazardous material stored or used in
As we have discussed before, energy isolation in a process is VERY DIFFERENT than energy isolation in a manufacturing plant. And the work we do as part of achieving a Zero Energy State (ZES) is the evacuation of hazardous energy. And man, have I seen some hockey setups to evacuate serious hazardous materials! Here is
I talk a lot about “safe locations” when we discuss Pressure Relief Device (PRD) discharge. The phrase “safe location” is used in just about every PRD RAGAGEP; however, none of them DEFINE or QUANTIFY the phrase, leaving it open to some poor designs. Here is a case where two workers were doing work 30′ under
On July 14, 2009, Employees #1 and #2 were performing a pneumatic test to verify leak tightness of a new pipeline meter station. The test medium was nitrogen gas, and the system being tested included piping and two (2) pressure vessels. Numerous leaks were found in the system during the test. The system reached the
I have these debates on a regular basis: ” We can not put an isolation valve before or after a Pressure Relief Device (PRD).” And that would be an incorrect statement. Yes, placing an “intervening valve” in a PRD path (before or after the PRD) can be risky; however, in some situations, these valves are
