I usually do not post such small cases, but this 540-megawatt electrical generation facility is sort of unique as it uses 87,840 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in a closed refrigeration system used to cool gas turbine inlet air and increase power output. It also uses 44,840 pounds of aqueous ammonia to reduce NOx emissions by…...
Since my post earlier this week I have received several comments and questions as to whether this “explosion” was in fact a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion. So I took the video and did a frame-by-frame examination of the event and I can say without question this was a classic BLEVE event. As we can…...
On January 6, 2021, at 2:30 PM the Big Sky fire Department was dispatched to a concrete batch plant for a vehicle fire that was reported to have spread to a large commercial structure. While en route to the incident responders were notified that there had been an explosion and that a propane truck was…...
A contractor was performing rust corrosion removal and prevention services on pressurized piping at a chemical plant in Freeport, Texas. In October 2016, two contractor employees were seriously injured when a pipe ruptured, releasing trichlorosilane. Following an inspection, OSHA issued the contractor a two-item serious citation. The first item, grouped for penalty purposes, alleges violations…...
A major plant upgrade to the ammonia refrigeration machinery room was completed in September 2019. This upgrade included new: compressors heat exchangers pressure vessels pressure piping controls The refrigeration system was in operation for 3 months and on January 4, 2020, @ 0800 the shift engineer observed a reading of 12 ppm on the ammonia…...
This is OSHA’s HAZWOPER (1910.120) Inspection Activity for their 2020 Fiscal year (October 2019 through September 2020). I have broken down the data by # of Citations, # of Inspections, Penalty $’s, and NAICS Industry Classification. As you can see, OSHA issued 38 citations from 19 inspections for a total of $130,373 in fines. Here…...
This is OSHA’s Respiratory Protection (1910.134) Inspection Activity for their 2020 Fiscal year (October 2019 through September 2020). I have broken down the data by # of Citations, # of Inspections, Penalty $’s, and NAICS Industry Classification. As you can see, OSHA issued 2,408 citations from 1,018 inspections for a total of $4,267,147 in fines. …...
This is OSHA’s Permit-Required Confined Space (1910.146) Inspection Activity for their 2020 Fiscal year (October 2019 through September 2020). I have broken down the data by # of Citations, # of Inspections, Penalty $’s, and NAICS Industry Classification. As you can see, OSHA issued 292 citations from 80 inspections for a total of $2,666,983 in…...
This is OSHA’s LOTO (1910.147) Inspection Activity for their 2020 Fiscal year (October 2019 through September 2020). I have broken down the data by # of Citations, # of Inspections, Penalty $’s, and NAICS Industry Classification. As you can see, OSHA issued 1,699 citations from 962 inspections for a total of $10,602,486 in fines. Here…...
This is OSHA’s PSM (1910.119) Inpsection Activity for their 2020 Fiscal year (October 2019 through September 2020). I have broken down the data by # of Citations, # of Inspections, Penalty $’s, and NAICS Industry Classification. As you can see, OSHA issued 195 citations from 50 inspections for a total of $1,806,072 in fines. Here…...
A “B-Train” LPG rig crashed, sending the smaller MC331 over the side of an overpass. Not sure if the accident threw the tanker over the edge or if the tanker was damaged in the accident and it launched in the air and landed over the side of the overpass. But as we can see, the…...
This is a MUST READ accident report for those who are involved in entries into Permit-Required Confined Spaces. It is a scenario that occurs daily around the globe and is often overlooked until tragedy strikes. Many times over my career, the INITIAL testing of the space indicated NO ATMOSPHERIC HAZARDS were present; however, the work…...
