In September 2010, a 48-year-old male worker (Victim I) employed by a village Department of Public Works (DPW) and a 51-year-old male volunteer firefighter (Victim II) of the village Fire Department (FD) died after entering a sewer manhole. The manhole was located behind the firehouse. The Fire Chief and a firefighter were called in by […]
On September 16, 2024, a 20-year-old male wash bay attendant (victim) attempted to utilize an electric grease gun to apply grease to the rear axle of a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) tank trailer. As the victim activated the grease gun, a spark ignited the butane gas that was actively escaping the cargo tank, instantly engulfing
A 62-year-old technician was killed when an LNG vapor cloud exploded while he offloaded liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a tanker semi-trailer. Heworked for his employer, a natural gas supplier, for about five (5) years. The technician was offloading the trailer at a temporary and mobile LNG transfer station. The trailer belonged to the technician’s
The tragic dry ice pool incident occurred on February 28, 2020, during a 29th birthday celebration for Russian Instagram influencer Ekaterina Didenko at the Devyaty Val pool complex in Moscow. Party organizers dumped 55 pounds of dry ice into an indoor swimming pool to create a dramatic, foggy visual effect.
Choosing between methane and pentane for calibrating a direct-reading combustible gas indicator (CGI) depends primarily on your specific application, the target hazards in your environment, and sensor technology constraints. But there are BOTH a “Pentane Advantage” and a “Methane Advantage” Match the Target Gas (Best Practice for Specific Hazards)
When you pump reactive, highly polar, or oxidizing gases like chlorine (Cl2), chlorine dioxide (ClO2), or ammonia (NH3) through standard silicone, polyurethane, or Tygon tubing, the tubing acts like a chemical absorber/scrubber. The gas is actively consumed or trapped by the hose before it ever reaches the instrument’s sensors. This creates severe process safety and
NOTE: Be sure to check your BRAND and MODEL for specifics. I have used MSA devices in this article because they are the brand I have used for 30+ years, and I am a huge fan of their products. ALL brands will have similar restrictions. ATTENTION TO these details matters! Yes, MSA enforces strict maximum
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has finalized Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) profiles and technical analytical standards for major toxic hydrogen halides. These mandates establish airborne exposure limits to guarantee rapid worker escape under acute exposure conditions and dictate strict sampling guidelines for modern industrial hygiene. NIOSH has updated
NIOSH issued a formal Request for Information (RFI) seeking new toxicological and human health effects data to refine the established IDLH value for ammonia (NH3), which currently sits at 300 ppm. The agency is specifically looking for updated “weight-of-evidence” research on how ammonia’s chemical mode of action—particularly rapid desensitization of olfactory receptors (smell fatigue) and
On June 28, 2026, a fatal farming accident occurred in Crane Township, Paulding County, Ohio, involving a tractor pulling an anhydrous ammonia “nurse” tank. The farmer, 59, was killed. He was driving a John Deere 9220 tractor pulling an anhydrous ammonia tank through a field. Just after 4:00 PM, the machinery struck and crashed into
On May 27, 2025, a catastrophic explosion and fire erupted at a chemical manufacturing plant operated by Shandong Youdao Chemical Co., Ltd. (often referred to as Gaomi Youdao Chemical) in Gaomi City, Shandong Province, China. The explosion killed 12 people, injured 19 others, and caused widespread structural destruction throughout the surrounding area. In July 2026,
For a formal liquid bubble leak test using a detector like Swagelok Snoop, the industry-standard minimum pressure governed by ASME Section V, Article 10 and ASME B31.3 is 15 psig or 25% of the system design pressure, whichever is less. While SNOOP itself will bubble at virtually any positive pressure where gas escapes, engineering codes
