At 2:30 p.m. on September 13, 2010, Employee #1, Employee #2, and Employee #3 were tasked with the dismantling of a scaffold level within a phosgene containment dome. During their dismantling work, at approximately 80 feet above the ground, alarms specific to phosgene gas were triggered. The process within this Dome was the manufacturing and […]
Under the final RMP Reconsideration rule, members of the public can continue to obtain access to RMPs through three different means: Read-only access to the full version of facility RMPs at reading rooms by appearing in person at a Federal reading room; Read-only RMP access directly from the local emergency planning committee in the location
On November 20, 2019, EPA finalized changes to the Risk Management Program (RMP) Reconsideration final rule to better address potential security risks, regulatory consistency and reasonable consideration of costs. The changes are intended to promote better emergency planning and public information about accidents and maintain the trend of fewer significant accidents involving chemicals regulated under
We have had another catastrophic failure of a pressure vessel used in an ammonia refrigeration process and this time we caught it on camera. The event occurred last week and unfortunately, I have not heard of any causes or if anything special was happening within the process when this failure occurred. This picture shows us
I am not sure where or quite when this vicious rumor began, but let’s make this clear: A Pre-startup Safety Review (PSSR) is an ENTIRELY separate exercise AND MUST be completed BEFORE the Initial Start-Up procedures are implemented. Granted it may be the same personnel doing both tasks, but the PSSR is FULLY COMPLETED BEFORE
Earlier this year I was asked to participate in an incident review involving a flashfire/explosion in a tote-filling process. (NOTE: the official term is an Intermediate Bulk Container or IBC) As I have written about many times, the #1 cause of these flash fires/explosions inside a container/vessel is the generation of static electricity; but this
This past May an employee was filling a nurse tank with anhydrous ammonia and noticed a small leak at the hose coupling. He attempted to tighten the coupling and while doing so the coupling popped off and he was exposed to NH3 vapors.
This past week we got a “Factual Update” from the CSB on the Storage Tank Fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) Terminal. After reading this update I was puzzled as to why the facts as we know them to date did not drive OSHA to open a NEP PSM inspection of the facility. Granted their
One means of controlling ignition sources in Hazardous Locations (HAZLOC) is to “pressurize” the enclosure/cabinet. This is not usually a primary means of protection but is a fallback when a facility realizes that an electrical enclosure/cabinet is sitting in their newly recognized Class 1, Div 2 HAZLOC. So I get a panic e-mail about this
One means of controlling ignition sources in Hazardous Locations (HAZLOC) is to “pressurize” the enclosure/cabinet. This is not usually a primary means of protection but is a fallback when a facility realizes that an electrical enclosure/cabinet is sitting in their newly recognized Class 1, Div 2 HAZLOC. So I get a panic e-mail about this
