OR-OSHA has fined a Portland environmental and emergency services company $118,800 for violating job safety standards designed to protect workers from the potentially deadly hazards of confined spaces. The division cited the employer following an inspection of an incident reported by Portland Fire & Rescue. Oregon OSHA’s July 14, 2023 incident inspection found that two […]
Having spent my entire career in Flame Retardant Clothing, I learned that improper laundering could render the PPE useless, maybe even hazardous to wear. In my time, we always had a contractor launder and maintain our FRC. It was not cheap, but it was necessary to ensure the PPE worked as intended when we needed
To simplify this, the Maximum Allowable Working Pressure (MAWP) is the maximum pressure at which the hose can operate routinely. Although, I strongly suggest the “operating ranges” be far less than the MAWP. However, achieving the MAWP does NOT mean the hose will necessarily fail. Where the hose will fail is called the “Burst Pressure.”
I know this can be a sensitive topic, even though I am not a fan of the “Zero Harm” approach, but when it was presented like this, I have to say I support all seven (7) of these functions within a Safety Management System (SMS). VISION ZERO – 7 Golden Rules – for zero accidents
R 408.17313 Proper use, handling, storage, and containment of firefighting foam concentrate. Rule 7313.
On or about January 31, 2023, representatives of the EPA inspected Respondent’s Facility to determine compliance with Section 112(r) of the CAA and 40 C.F.R. Part 68. Information gathered during the EPA inspection revealed that Respondent had over 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in a process at its facility. Information gathered during the EPA inspection
The criteria for determining when to retire or repair FR clothing/garments/accessories MUST provide measurable or easily identifiable damage. The following are some means to DEFINE and QUANTIFY these deficiencies:
“People are actually very reliable, but there are many opportunities for error in the course of a day’s work, and when handling hazardous materials, we can tolerate only very low error rates (and equipment failure rates), lower than it may be possible to achieve. We may be able to keep up a tip-top performance for
“People are actually very reliable, but there are many opportunities for error in the course of a day’s work, and when handling hazardous materials, we can tolerate only very low error rates (and equipment failure rates), lower than it may be possible to achieve.
In 2023, I began taking issue with the condition of Flame Retardant Clothing (FRC) being used in REQUIRED areas and tasks. We see garments that in no way would pass a “routine inspection” per NFPA limitations. My go to RAGAGEP for this is NFPA 2113, Standard on Selection, Care, Use, and Maintenance of Flame-Resistant Garments
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into a gasoline overfill of a carbon adsorption vapor recovery unit (VRU) revealed concerns with the design of the VRU. The overfill prevention system was NOT independent of the basic process control system (BPCS). When the BPCS failed the overfill prevention system also failed. This resulted in loss
OSHA’s PSM standard is over 30 years old, and EPA’s RMP standards/rule is approaching its 30th birthday fast. They are so 20th century (LOL)! This article is about how some of my clients are approaching their 3-year audits required by both standards. This approach embraces the “audit element” of the process safety management system as
