Hazardous Materials

Have you ever wondered where all the “separation distances” we see in OSHA Standards, NFPA Codes, Fire Codes, etc. come from?  Who came up with them, what are they based on, etc.?  All legitimate questions and you are NOT alone!!   Many of these requirements have historical undocumented origins. Guidance, which may inform a sound technical…...

When we have a hazardous material that poses either a physical hazard such as a flash fire/explosion or a health hazard we need to manage this hazard using our hierarchy of controls.  The first control is to see if we can use a “safer alternative” which we call “Elimination/Substitution”.  But if this is not possible…...

A gas cylinder was found in the parking lot of an event facility by staff arriving at work. The cylinder had launched from the concessions area the night before…. Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...

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…...

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…...

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...

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…...

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…...

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…...