Respondent operates an ice rink facility with an ammonia refrigeration system. The System uses or used anhydrous ammonia, a chemical that is listed pursuant to Section 112(r)(3) as an “extremely hazardous substance” and that is subject to the General Duty Clause. In March of 2022, Respondent’s response to an Information Request issued by EPA revealed […]
Respondent is the owner and/or operator of an animal slaughtering facility where anhydrous ammonia is used in refrigeration systems. The Respondent conducted an offsite consequence analysis in early 2022, showing that the population inside the worst-case scenario radius includes 961 houses, and 2,851 people could be exposed to this release. The Respondent also conducted an
Respondent is the owner or operator of an ingredients facility with greater than 10,000 pounds of ethylene oxide in a covered process and greater than 10,000 pounds of trimethylamine in a covered process at the Facility. From the time Respondent first had onsite greater than 10,000 pounds of ethylene oxide and/or trimethylamine in a process,
The Respondent owns or operates a chemical distribution facility where the respondent has used or stored more than 15,000 pounds of formaldehyde. 40 C.F.R. § 68.25(a)(2)(i) requires the owner or operator of a stationary source to analyze and report in a Risk Management Plan (“RMP”) the worse-case release scenario that is estimated to create the
On June 7, 2022, an employee working as an environmental engineer was replacing two failed pumps in a pump station. Two coworkers connected the new pumps to electricity, and the employee lowered the pumps into the vault. It was noted that the pumps weren’t working correctly, and water was pumped from the space. The employee
November 20, 2022 was the anniversary of Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) regulations. And although it is not as well known as OSHA’s PSM and EPA’s RMP standards, it is a standard that many PSM/RMP practitioners deal with, so I thought it would be fitting to look at the CFATS numbers…
In a recent training course, the EPA answered the “One Big Question”… (one that I have written about many times) Does the facility rely on emergency responders to stop the release of the regulated substance(s)? If the facility answers Yes, they are saying the local first responders will respond and stop the release. This means
Here are the six (6) triggers that will get your RMP Inspection Case referred to DOJ:
This Safety Alert addresses the importance of verifying atmospheric conditions in fish holds on commercial fishing vessels. There are specific hazards associated with the use of brine dip solutions, a common substance used in the industry. Brine dip combined with standing water can produce dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The U.S. Coast Guard is
Respondent is the owner and operator of an olefins facility which had two (2) incidents that occurred on December 20, 2021, and May 3, 2022, that resulted in accidental releases. Respondent has an olefins unit process at the Facility, meeting the definition of ” process”, as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3. EPA Findings of
A comparison of the characteristics of active and latent failures suggests that avoiding active failures tends to drive down the frequency of events while finding and rectifying the results of latent failures tends to drive down the severity of events.
