It seems every generation is destined to have its own structure fire tragedy; ours being the Station Nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island in 2003. In less than 30 minutes, 100 people lost their lives that night (February 20, 2003). I had just started consulting and I can remember it well as almost all…...
A look at back at fire safety Read More »
The Joint TDG-GHS informal working group (IWG) dealing with the categorization of flammable gases was organized in Brussels from 9 to 11 March 2015 by the Belgian and the Japanese delegations to the TDG and GHS sub-committees. The participants (physically/by phone) list can be found in Annex 1of this report. The purpose of this IWG…...
Bollards – a safety engineer’s best friend and a facility engineer’s worst nightmare. I am not quite sure how we lost our way in such a simple design for such a significant safeguard. But the International Fire Code (IFC) since the early 1990’s when I began using it has remained consistent in the design of…...
When bollards look good, but fail miserably Read More »
Can cylinders of Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) be stored with oxygen cylinders? This is not meant to be a trick question, but it is a question I find to be confusing for employees who place cylinders into storage. So what is your answer: Can cylinders of Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) be stored with oxygen cylinders?… Membership Required...
Ammonia compressed gas cylinder storage Read More »
First thing – Rest In Peace Gerardo Castorena and Frank Flores and may God be with your loved ones during this most difficult time. Also to the residents who have lost their homes and/or been displaced, I wish you a speedy return to some sense of normalcy. And to the workers who have lost their…...
Watson Grinding Tragedy (RMP Comp, Video, and Photo Analysis) Read More »
Each time I share a video of foolishness putting people at risk I always catch slack from people in the USA about how the video shows “3rd world behaviors” – never mind all the videos and pics showing Americans at gas pumps using plastic bags, 5-gallon buckets, etc. at fuel pumps. Here is another one…...
Gas Pump Safety – USA Style (Video) Read More »
If you’re in the ammonia fertilizer business in the State of Georgia (GA) this may be of interest to you. Although I should point out that the Code language did NOT exclude ammonia held as a refrigerant. On November 25, 2019, the Administrative Procedure Division of the Office of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner…...
Did the State of Georgia make NH3 a “permitted HAZMAT” in 2019? Read More »
Bulk CO2 systems are becoming more and more commonplace. Rather than having the smaller compressed gas cylinders from years back, restaurants are now running their soft drink dispensers off of liquid dewars which is a LOT of CO2. Add to the mix that restaurants are notorious for having poor hazardous communications programs and YOUNGER workers…...
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Delivery FATALITY (Drive-Off) Read More »
On 21 July 2018, a major release of ammonia gas occurred at a Western Australian port. As part of standard operation, an ammonia tanker vessel was supplying anhydrous ammonia to a process plant. Following the completion of liquid ammonia unloading, purging of the loading arm and pipework was commenced with ammonia gas supplied by the…...
Ammonia ship transfer release (Government of Western Australia) Read More »
A few years ago I posted a fatal incident involving unloading NH3. The driver made a valving error and left the liquid bleed valve to a plastic tote open while he was transferring liquid NH3 to the storage tank. He was standing ~6-10′ from the tote when it violently ruptured when the liquid NH3 entered…...
NH3 liquid into water reaction Read More »
A few years ago I posted a fatal incident involving unloading NH3. The driver made a valving error and left the liquid bleed valve to a plastic tote open while he was transferring liquid NH3 to the storage tank. He was standing ~6-10′ from the tote when it violently ruptured when the liquid NH3 entered…...
NH3 liquid into water reaction Read More »
Jack Rabbit: Chlorine Properties is a 28-minute video that uses footage from the Department of Homeland Security’s Jack Rabbit release trials to demonstrate chlorine’s dispersion properties. The video covers the following topics: Introduction Dispersion Pressure Differentials, Phase Changes, and Thermal Considerations Density Different Atmospheric/Land Conditions… Membership Required You must be a member to access this...
Jack Rabbit Test Videos (Chlorine) Read More »
