A jury trial is set for the former employee charged in the February home explosion that killed one volunteer firefighter and injured 13 more people. He is facing a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and three other misdemeanors relating to the unlawful transfer, release, maintenance, and control of liquid petroleum gas. The worker, 67, has…...
Many types of industrial equipment can potentially produce an explosive oil mist if a fault develops. This includes almost all equipment in which oil is under pressure, such as hydraulic systems, pressurized lubrication systems, and oil-based heat transfer systems, among others. These are widely used and found in many industries, including service plant rooms and…...
As we have discussed many times, UNLOADING/LOADING Hazardous Materials to/from a bulk DOT container is often times one of the highest risks on a plant site. And when the hazardous material is a liquefied compressed gas, the risks escalate quickly! Two of the more common liquefied compressed gases are LPG and NH3, which fall under…...
On June 8, 2022, piping at an LNG Terminal failed, resulting in an explosion and fire. The explosion and fire occurred entirely within the fenced boundaries of the facilities. The facility immediately shut down its operations and notified first responders. With assistance from local fire departments, the fire at the terminal was brought under control…...
For those who deal with these “hazardous materials storage cabinets,” we have seen some new design requirements over the past couple of code cycles. A lot of codes began requiring “self-closing” doors on these cabinets; however, we can go back to the 2012 edition of the IFC and find this requirement. And now the IFC…...
A few years ago, I warned about the huge push to make flammable refrigerants easier to manage in the name of “global warming.” As a safety professional, this shift is alarming. Never in my career have we considered a burning rate of 10 cm/s as a means to lessen the risk associated with a flammable…...
The report indicated that the driver of the refrigerated truck had poor safety and legal awareness. He allowed eight female workers to ride in the truck, which carried packaged beef with dry ice. The dry ice sublimed into carbon dioxide gas, which rapidly filled the confined space inside the truck…. Membership Required You must be...
The day has arrived! The 2024 IFC recognizes the new GHS for Flammable Gases by breaking down CAT 1 Flammable Gases into 1A and 1B Flammable Gases. it also uses the phrase “Burning Velocity” (BV) which are defined and quantified as…… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a...
As we have discussed, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issued a Safety Study (CSB Safety Study: No. 2024-01-H, Remote Isolation of Process Equipment) discussing the untapped advantages when Remote Emergency Shut-Off Valves are used in hazardous processing. I have written about these requirements for all types of hazardous materials; this post is for Flammable Gases…...
Those who follow my accident posts are well aware of my crusade to help everyone understand the LIMITATIONS of our atmospheric monitors. Just this year, I did my 2-day PRCS training course for a well-known petrochemical business and was challenged on the limitations of the LEL sensors on these devices. During the lunch break, several…...
ATF Louisville said it has definitively identified the origin of last week’s deadly plant explosion. The investigation led them to the origin of the explosion: Cooking Vessel No. 6 on the South side of the facility. They can say that the vessel failed definitively… it was likely an issue with overpressurization. Some of that vessel…...
For example, the popularity of flammable refrigerants. The risk is real! R-600a is an isobutane, a flammable substance like you might find in a cigarette lighter…. Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...
