AED’s have become extremely popular in the past decade; they are in just about all public places like airports, government buildings, and many private businesses. These devices require little to no official training, as the device’s computer walks the user through the entire process of saving a life. But these devices do NOT last forever! […]
On June 24, 2018, a 33-year-old male career part-time fire fighter (Fire Fighter 2) died after being struck in the head by a pressurized compressed-air self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) cylinder. Fire Fighter 2 was working his regular shift at Station 22 and was assisting Fire Fighter 1 and an off-duty captain with the inspection
This document is a gem to have if you’re in a role that requires the use of multi-gas detectors such as those used for entry into permit-required confined spaces and check an area before Hot Work begins. It has been around since 2016 and I have used the information in it for years in my
Question: Would you/Do you permit 2-way radios, and their attachments, that do NOT carry a rating for HAZLOCs (Class I, Div 1/2) to be used inside a Level A suit? Recently I was asked to help a client in the great state of NM with their emergency response capabilities. Our first step was to assess their
Most emergency responders know that NH3 loves water and well-placed fog pattern will go a long way to “scrubbing” a large NH3 cloud. But after what we witnessed on Thursday morning, I do wonder if we all know the do’s and don’ts of using water around NH3. Yes, the incident Thursday was catastrophic and impacted
Failing to report a 172-pound release of NH3 (RQ=100 pounds) via an RV to the NRC, SERC, and LEPC in a “timely manner” can be costly! Respondent is a Wisconsin corporation, with a cream cheese and yogurt manufacturing facility. At all times relevant to this CAFO, the Facility was a facility at which a hazardous
THIS CASE IS NOT A FINAL ORDER OF THE REVIEW COMMISSION AS IT IS PENDING COMMISSION REVIEW This case arose from an anhydrous ammonia (NH3) release that occurred on May 23, 2017, at a Power Plant. OSHA conducted an investigation and subsequently issued a two-item citation for alleged violations with proposed penalties of $18,108. In
There are not very many OSHA standards that call out the “trainer qualification(s)” for those who teach on the subject matter, but the HAZWOPER standard does. When a trainer uses the phrase HAZWOPER over and over but does not recognize this is an acronymn that stands for Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, has no
We have an uncontrolled release from our PSM/RMP covered process today, February 5, 2019. We have trained for this day. We have inspected our gear, well most of it, each month for years. We don our LEVEL A suits, which have been pressure tested annually and cared for per every single manufacturer’s requirements. Under our LEVEL
On July 11, 1996 a member of the Roxbury Township, Morris County, Fire Department, Firefighter Paul Label, age 29, was in the process of recharging an aluminum 2216 psi SCBA cylinder from the department’s cascade system at about 2038 hours, when it failed catastrophically resulting in serious injuries to Mr. Label. On October 8, 1996
The reportable quantity (RQ) that triggers emergency release notification (Section 304) was developed as a quantity that when released, poses a potential threat to human health and the environment. The RQs were developed using several criteria, including aquatic toxicity, mammalian toxicity, ignitability, reactivity, chronic toxicity, potential carcinogenicity, biodegradation, hydrolysis, and photolysis (50 FR 13468, April
For those who work and live in the world of Process Safety Management, the abbreviation MOC may make you and your colleagues cringe. And when some “consultant” tells you that using the Management of Change (MOC) process for changes to our Emergency Response Equipment, especially PPE, you are probably thinking… SERIOUSLY? I cant keep track
