I can remember our first attempt at writing SOPs for our PSM covered process(s): Deviation is “High Pressure” in V-1 Steps to Correct “High Pressure”: 1) Lower Pressure Sound familiar? We chuckle now, but in the early 1990’s we thought this was the intent. We still find this kind of PSM/RMP SOP in 2023; however, […]
From MSHA accident file… The two (10) ten-inch metal pipes being removed were part of a closed-loop chiller system that had been abandoned. One pipe supplied chilled water underground (supply and shown as blue in the drawing), and the other returned water to the surface
This is one of the best summaries of what we can expect to see in the 2024 IFC regarding Lithium Ion Batteries. CLICK HERE (Source: Fire Inspectors Association of Indiana )
This is why I question society’s ability to manage Oxygen deficient atmospheres in warehouses as a means of fire protection. At 10:00 a.m. on February 7, 2023, an employee was found unresponsive in the Control Atmospheric (CA) room. The typical oxygen level when the room is active is between 1.2% to 1.6%. The room has
At 5:00 p.m. on January 30, 2023, two employees, 24 and 48, were performing operations pertaining to an autoclave. The atmosphere was oxygen deficient due to the presence of argon gas. The employees were asphyxiated and killed. Source: https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=153529.015
At 6:45 a.m. on February 18, 2023, an employee, 31, was removing trays from a hydrogen reactor. The employee was on SUPPLIED BREATHING AIR. The employee attempted to exit the confined space at the end of the shift when he reported to the attendant that he could not breathe. The attendant told the employee to turn
At 12:30 p.m. on January 31, 2023, Employee #1, 45, performed cathodic protection maintenance on a 4-inch natural gas pipeline. Employee #1 removed the resin coating off the external portion of the pipeline to test the hull thickness of the pipeline. While removing the coating, the pipeline exploded. Employee #1 was killed by immolation. Employee
At 11:45 a.m. on February 23, 2023, an employee, 20, working for a city water department, was repairing a leaking 12-inch PVC waterline main valve. The valve was located in a utility vault approximately 5 feet deep. The employee turned off the water to the WEST of the valve by opening multiple fire hydrants. He
At approximately 12:00 p.m. on February 24, 2023, an employee, 35, was performing “well site pumping operations” for an oil and gas producer. A coworker had been trying to contact the employee unsuccessfully, so he went to the oil and gas well site where the employee was working to check on him. The coworker found
One of the worst injury accidents of my career occurred in a PSM/RMP-covered process but involved a non-HHC/EHS. The chemical was “hot caustic,” a byproduct from the process used in another process’s scrubber. A sister facility had an incident in which it was discovered that the caustic was too weak. Thus in a process upset,
Five (5) workers died after inhaling suspected poisonous gas emanating from a tank at a food factory in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district. The incident happened in the Sakshi Food Products factory. Gas began emanating from a tank at the factory that makes food products around 11 am, and two (2) workers entered it to investigate.
We are seeing more and more of this type of set-up, where an auxiliary piece of equipment on an assembly/production line has two (2) electrical supplies. One is from the main SWITCH on the line, and one is from a separate source. This is usually done when the auxiliary equipment may need to stay energized
