Some clients have their processes/storage in the middle of a neighborhood, and I mean in the middle of a neighborhood, as we see on TV and postcards. Beautiful tree-lined streets with kids riding their bikes and moms pushing their baby strollers. Of course, the facility came first, in the 1950’s, and then the encroachment. As […]
Recently, we were involved in a serious incident in which a group of contractors was overcome by a “highly toxic gas” (as defined by the state’s Fire Code) that escaped from a compressed-gas cylinder. This container, along with 42 other containers with various hazardous materials, was stored outside in an unmarked area. The contractors had
HSE works with international partners to provide evidence for risk assessment of new technologies, keeping the UK at the forefront of scientific and engineering advances, while ensuring worker safety. Liquid hydrogen is of interest in transport applications such as aeroplanes. ELVHYS is an EU project designed to enhance the safety and efficiency of liquid hydrogen
A chemical company experienced two major uncontrolled releases of highly corrosive acids. In January 2020, approximately 300,000 litres (8,000 gallons) of hydrochloric acid leaked from the site, releasing toxic gases that forced the closure of local businesses and schools and caused residents to evacuate their homes. A second incident in August saw 87,000 litres (23,000
A lot has been said on LinkedIn about secondary container labeling, and at least seven (7) posts were absolutely wrong. Those posts have been shared more than 400 times; I wish I knew how many views. Many people agreed with the original posters that secondary containers had to be labeled the same as shipped containers.
As I noted in 2007, the #1 cause of process vessel deflagrations is the manual additions of powders to process vessels which have a flammable atmosphere. NFPA 77 covers this hazard with several solutions, yet many facilities are either not aware of these risks and solutions or simply have their head buried regarding these catastrohic
The definition of “switch loading: Switch loading is the hazardous practice of loading a low-vapor-pressure product (such as diesel or heating oil) into a tank compartment that previously contained a high-vapor-pressure, flammable product (such as gasoline) without first cleaning it. This creates a high risk of static electricity generation and explosion, as residual vapors can
This is a classic case of a “routine opening” within a PSM/RMP-covered process that turned fatal for an operator. ALL openings of a process containing a hazardous energy source, PSM/RMP or NOT, can be some of the most hazardous tasks we can ask personnel to perform. At approximately 1:00 a.m. on August 14, 2011, Employee
I have written about it countless times: putting a flange together is, in many ways, more difficult than welding the pipes together. But many businesses don’t want to pay the rates for Certified Welders and Inspectors and believe their own people can do the piping work simply by using flanges rather than welds. “It’s common
We see many compressed gas cylinders of Asphyxiants in labs within large industrial facilities. We even see these labs increasing their quantities and moving to using Dewars (cryogenic liquid storage) to store their asphyxiants. These dewars are a massive game-changer, as both Liquid N2 and Liquid Ar have expansion ratios of 1:700 and 1:860, respectively.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a poll in my FB Group asking: Is a personal single-gas detector necessary within our breathing zone when wearing an Air Purifying Respirator in a potential IDLH atmosphere? For example, responding to a leak alarm for an NH3 or Cl2 leak. And as usual, the group did NOT
This is what over-torquing looks like on a four (4) bolt flange. The gasket began as the image on the bottom and came out as the image on the top! And we wonder how flanges leak, and leak again, and eventually fail?
