It has been 36 years since the Bhopal tragedy killed thousands of people late one night when it was released from its process. I was recently surprised by a facility claiming that the incident was “overblown” and that “MIC is a vital chemical to commerce around the world”. I can’t disagree with the second statement,…...
The Bhopal Chemical and is it as bad as you think Read More »
Both OSHA and the International Fire Code use the Lethal-Dose 50 (LD50) to establish the toxicity of hazardous chemicals/materials and both use the metric milligram per kilogram of body weight in their assessments. Just so we all have an idea of how small a milligram is… One (1) grain of sand weighs 1 mg An…...
Just how toxic is a “highly toxic” hazardous material? Read More »
We have been using OSHA’s Hazard Categories from the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) since 2012. I have written a lot about the flammable categories, but I tend to get a lot of questions about the Health Hazard Categories in my HAZCOM and HAZMAT training so I thought I would…...
Understanding the Inhalation of Gases Hazard Categories Read More »
Two of my major chemical incidents in my career occurred during “demo work” in a process that we were certain was gas-free/zero energy state. And of course, we were wrong! Highly toxic/flammable gases can travel long ways to places we never thought possible and do some serious damage to people and property when they get…...
Just when you thought it was safe… Chlorine can kick your a_ _! Read More »
I am going to bet that if you’re reading this article that your facility has a flammable gas that gets transferred from one container to another. And I will also bet that these transfers are done under the safety blanket of “bonding and grounding” as we do for our flammable liquids. But did you know,…...
Bonding and Grounding flammable gas systems, why NFPA and OSHA don’t require it Read More »
In light of the recent EPA citation at a bulk storage facility for anhydrous ammonia (NH3) I thought it would be fitting to highlight a best practice from the state of Illinois for this type of process. Most states are in the process of updating their state codes for the safe storage and handling of…...
The state of IL and Ammonia fertilizer process design Read More »
If you have read your meter’s manual you have most certainly come across it’s “correction calculation”, usually in the back of the manual. But Isobutane is not a common flammable, so why did it make it on the list of those popular flammables? It is because of the “green movement”… yes, Isobutane (R-600a) is a…...
Isobutane and your LEL sensor’s correction calculation Read More »
In the past 2-3 years, I have begun seeing Anhydrous Ammonia systems that claim to be built to ANSI K61.1 or CGA 2.1, but somehow these processes do not have the Emergency Shutdown Systems required by these two Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices. So with the help of the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical…...
Anhydrous Ammonia Emergency Shutdown for Hose Severance Read More »
My previous article on the Anhydrous Ammonia requirements generated a lot of questions, mostly about how OSHA worded their requirements when it came to Excess Flow Valves, Check Valves, Unloading, and Emergency Shutoff Valves. So this posting I used one of my favorite sources, WA States LNI standards, to present the material in a more…...
Anhydrous Ammonia unloading and tank requirements in laymen terms Read More »
This article is being posted in my Hazardous Materials section rather than the Process Safety section because the vast majority of my finds regarding the lack of proper design are almost exclusively in processes that have less than 10,000 pounds. I am hoping that those who read this will understand that what I am going…...
Anhydrous Ammonia unloading design specs in 1910.111 Read More »
All bollards have limitations. Most are designed to stop a 12,000-pound vehicle traveling at 10-mph. Most non-commercial vehicles will weigh far less than 12,000 pounds; however, 18-wheelers will weigh far more than 12,000-pounds. These are the bollards that are the ones that are 4″ steel pipes filled with concrete and buried at least 3′ into…...
When bollards fail! Read More »
Anyone who follows my ramblings knows that I am a big fan of bollards. I have written about them and shared dozens of incidents where a properly designed and installed bollard saves the day and more often than not I am sharing incidents with “fake” bollards where something was destroyed because the bollard was IMPROPERLY…...
Fueling stations, bollards and fake bollards Read More »
