A pressure vessel in an ammonia refrigerator system at an ice plant ruptured under pressure of 170 psi. The explosion caused extensive physical damage and released dense clouds of ammonia gas. Employees #1 through 4 died of acute ammonia inhalation…. Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member?...
FATAL NH3 refrigeration vessel catastrophic failure at 170 psi Read More »
Employee #1 was exposed to ammonia gas on November 20, 1984, during an ammonia leak from refrigeration piping in a compressor room. A threaded joint weakened due to excess vibration and cracked. When it failed, ammonia was released. An unapproved gas mask was used by the employee. Employee #1 died the following December 16th from…...
Fatal NH3 release caused by threaded joint weakened by vibrations Read More »
Car Seal programs have gained some attention in the refrigeration industry over the years, but there is still a significant debate over whether such a program is needed in the industry. A past incident at a client’s facility and the root cause of that incident shine a bright light on the need for a Car Seal…...
Example of valves to Car-Seal OPEN and CLOSED on a NH3 refrigeration process Read More »
At 3:00 p.m. on January 11, 2018, an employee was working with two coworkers with clearing a blockage in the product discharge system in the Polypropylene Unit. The employee and coworkers opened the process piping at a sample catching location and a flash fire occurred. The employee who made the line opening received first and…...
Line Break Gone Bad (Flammable Liquid) Read More »
At approximately 10:00 a.m. on May 25, 2018, three employees were working for a firm that disposed of waste and operated solid waste landfills. They were working at an oil and gas site. Three tanks were being decommissioned. They had been assisting in containing a spill during the decommissioning. The tanks were moved from the…...
Welding on used containers fatal explosion Read More »
To provide a glimpse of what kind of fun I get to have in process safety, I wanted to start a series of chemical profiles of some of the nasty hazardous materials I work with and why so many of my clients are such sticklers for meeting all of the different codes/standards/RAGAGEPS to the letter in…...
A little known CAT 1 Flammable Liquid with an IDLH of 10 ppm Read More »
On April 15, 2014, Employee #1, a maintenance technician employed by Solarworld Industries America Inc., and Coworker #1, a tool operator in the plant’s fabrication area, was working at the employer’s solar cell manufacturing facility. Coworker #1 had submitted a work order to repair a leak of liquid hydrofluoric acid (HF). HF is used in…...
Perfect example of delayed response to HF acid exposure Read More »
A Reminder to Minimize Process Shutdown Related Releases and to Report Releases In a Timely Manner Introduction Unlike some other natural disasters, the onset of a hurricane is predictable and, as a result, lends itself to early preparations for minimizing its effect on a facility. Before hurricane force winds and associated storm surge flooding can damage industrial processes and cause uncontrolled releases of hazardous chemicals, owners/operatorstypically…...
EPA issues a Hazardous Weather Release Prevention and Reporting Alert Read More »
Car Seal Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) For OPERATIONAL CONTROL of valves For MAINTENANCE & SERVICING CONTROL of energy isolation devices… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...
Process Safety Tip… Car Seal vs LOTO Read More »
This picture represents the fun side of working with clients who want to be world-class and meet the “intent” of a code or standard, not worrying if it just meets OSHA. This is a refrigeration client who is really trying to make this start-up an example for other facilities within the organization to emulate. During a Pre-PSSR…...
What do we see in this picture? (Pressure vessels and fire scenarios) Read More »
Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatus (EEBA) have been around my entire career and I have used the mouth-bit style and the supplied air bag-over-the-head style. Actually, I have never had to use one, but I had them at my facilities when I was a Safety Manager in the chemical and semiconductor industries. So I have learned…...
Proper application of Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatus (EEBA) Read More »
The quick and easy answer is YES and before the changing of Presidential administrations the wheels were in motion, even after several court set-backs. But some would like to accuse me of being a “consultant” and spreading fear to drum up business. I used to laugh off these comments and accusations, but today I received…...
So does OSHA really want to revise the PSM standard? Read More »
