I have probably posted more than two dozen reports and videos showing the hazards associated with Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC), almost all associated with flammable liquids. In September 2019, a facility in Rouen, France, experienced a catastrophic event involving IBCs containing flammable liquids. It was just a reminder of the hazards and level of risks […]
An employee, 49, of a paint manufacturing company spent eight days in intensive care on life support and has been left with all-over body scarring, partial blindness to one eye, hearing damage, and damage to a knee and shoulder. He was off work for 16 months. The explosion at the company’s premises on August 4,
We have discussed this before; there is a significant difference between Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices (RAGAGEPs) and OSHA’s minimum performance compliance standards. OSHA standards may be adequate when quantities of the hazardous material(s) are managed at a lower inventory level; however, once those inventory levels exceed the PSM/RMP threshold, the old minimum
Last month I posted Exhaust Ventilation for Flammable Atmospheres and “Safe Locations” to explain the hazards of not controlling our flammable vapors associated with the required exhaust ventilation. I received several comments and questions on that article regarding the normal process of venting hazardous materials and how to best define a “safe location” for these
The phrase “important building” is used in many hazardous material(s) standards and codes. OSHA, IFC, and NFPA all use the phrase, yet the phrase is not defined in any of these codes. And because of this lack of definition, there are usually needless debates about their role in safety or the hazards they may present.
A fair number of you are with me on my approach to industrial safety. I am a believer and user of HOP, SIF, and Psychological Safety, the three (3) major moevements in safety these days. But these movements NEED STRUCTURE to thrive inside a workplace. They are NOT standalone “programs,” and any snake oil salesperson
NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation completed a project to identify, summarize, and analyze static electricity incidents. A summary of the current provisions in NFPA 77 are provided and existing knowledge gaps were identified. This report assists the NFPA 77 Technical Committee on Static Electricity and others in the fire protection and life safety industry. The
I was asked what I thought was the best flammable liquid code on the entire planet. Honestly, I can not answer, as I do not know all the flammable liquid codes on the planet, only those I have worked with in the countries where I do process safety work. But in my limited experience, I
SAFTENG NOTES: Interesting citations… GDC on “Opening process equipment” and GDC on LEL detector(s) locations The Respondent operates plastics material and resin manufacturing processes at the Facility that produces polymers used in various applications and products, meeting the definition of “process “as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3. The Respondent produces, processes, handles, and stores
Respondent has an “All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing” process at the Facility, meeting the definition of “process” as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3. Respondent has greater than a threshold quantity of Vinyl Acetate, Ethylene oxide, Ammonia, Methane, Propylene, Acetaldehyde, and a Flammable Mixture (” the Regulated Substances”) in a process at the Facility,
Respondent is the owner and operator of the facility that produces anhydrous ammonia, urea fertilizer, and urea-ammonium nitrate which are loaded on trucks and railcars for distribution. The Respondent’s Facility chemical processes meet the definition of “process” and “covered process”, as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3. The Respondent’s RMP program level 3 covered processes
OSHA determined that an Arkansas construction contractor failed to test oxygen levels in the confined space before two workers entered a sewer 20 feet below ground at an Edmund work site and died because of a lack of oxygen. The investigation into the June 14, 2022, incident found that an employee climbed into a newly
