Launched in 2017, this Chemical Accident Risk Reduction National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative (NECI) seeks to reduce risks to human health and the environment by decreasing the likelihood of chemical accidents. This will be achieved by addressing significant noncompliance with the general duty to maintain a safe environment and risk management plan rules. Given the […]
The SEP will provide the emergency response equipment to the identified emergency response organizations to assist them in responding to emergencies in the communities where the Covered Refineries operate and where chemical processes are undertaken that the CAA regulates. XXXXX is obligated to expend Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000), which includes all administrative costs associated with
I still do about a dozen 24 or 40-hr HAZMAT Tech courses and dozens of 8-hr Refreshers each year. And in each class, it never fails that someone will ask the question… Does OSHA/EPA actually require that? Backstory: I’ve been on the ERT for 20 years, and this is the first time I’ve heard this.
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HZIR2501.pdf
On October 21, 2015, two mechanical technicians were involved in an incident while attempting to remove a blind flange from supply piping on a Magnet Cooling Water (MCW) System. The mechanical technicians were assisting a welder in obtaining final measurements to make the final connections from the MCW system to a new Cell 14 cryostat
A process worker and colleague were preparing for a scheduled maintenance task in the ammonia storage area of a processing plant.As part of a routine purging operation, the process worker connected a flexible rubber hose via a coupling to a purge connection point. The purge hose was charged with nitrogen, and the valve was being
The two (2) leading causes of ammonia releases are:
Some industries’ RAGAGEPs will call out the risk of using a butterfly valve as an energy isolation device due to its propensity to “leak by”. In this incident, the valve catastrophically failed, releasing NH3, resulting in a worker and a contractor being hospitalized. I do not know if the valve was locked out, but that
Disclaimer: I am NO LONGER a fan of Powered-Air Purifying Respirators (PAPRs). It is not the PAPR’s fault; it is the science behind the increased desire to use PAPRs for all the wrong reasons and how this could be bad news for the users. PAPRs have become increasingly popular over the past decade or so
This aspect of respiratory protection is a SAFETY CRITICAL path when using Air Purifying Respirators (APRs), and in my experience, it is rarely done correctly when it is done at all. I teach my program administrators to do precisely what NIOSH has been stating since 2004. When using the Change Out software, use 1 ppm
Vapor pressure: Pressure exerted by a saturated vapor above its liquid in a closed container. Three facts are important to remember:
We can see some hazardous gases, even at low concentrations, such as Chlorine (Cl2). But some hazardous gases are “clear/invisible”. So, using Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) as our hazardous gas… What does 300 ppm of Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) look like? Note: 300 ppm is the IDLH for NH3 For example, there’s a release of NH3. You
