Safety Info Posts

Defining and Quantifying “incidental releases” and ones requiring an “emergency response”

This is a perfect (and sad) example of why releases of hazardous materials need to be DEFINED and QUANTIFIED so that personnel know their LIMITATIONS in responding to said releases. This exercise is part of our PRE-PLANNING, starting with using the Tier II forms we submit each year. Just understand, the Tier II forms are…...

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Isolating piping passing through a PRCS (OSHA LOI)

Well, it’s not often that I disagree with the OSHA technical team that writes LOIs, but this one is a MAJOR MISTAKE. I have debated this topic for 30 years and now my argument just got squashed by the agency. In their 2025 LOI, OSHA stated: If the employer’s evaluation of the space determines that…...

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Is this where we have arrived with Tech in the Safety Arena?!?! (Virtual PIT Evaluations?)

Background: 29 CFR 1910.178(l)(2)(iii) states: All operator training and evaluation shall be conducted by persons who have the knowledge, training, and experience to train powered industrial truck operators and evaluate their competence. Question #1: Can a person who has the knowledge, training, and experience to train powered industrial truck operators and evaluate their competence, clarified…...

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Whether the respiratory protection medical evaluation may consider factors beyond respirator use (OSHA LOI)

OSHA answers two (2) Respiratory Protection Program questions: To what extent does OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard, at 29 CFR § 1910.134(e), require that the PLHCP’s medical evaluation for respirator use include consideration of factors beyond respiratory protection that affect fitness to safely perform the expected job tasks while wearing a respirator?Is there a reasonable expectation…...

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Cell Phones in the workplace… just a bad idea!

On the evening of Christmas Eve, the Jackson Fire Department was alerted to a worker trapped inside a hopper at a local factory. Jackson Police Department, Jackson County EMS, Jackson Sheriff’s Office, Liberty Fire, and Jackson Fire units, including Jackson’s Rescue, Tower, and two engines, responded to the scene. The worker was attempting to retrieve…...

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Purging of gaseous hydrogen piping systems (IGC)

Where piping is to be opened for servicing, addition, or modification, the section to be worked on shall be isolated from the supply at the nearest convenient point, and the line pressure vented to the OUTDOORS. The remaining gas in this section of pipe shall be displaced with an inert gas. Prior to placing the…...

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CSB Issues Interim Safety Recommendations to U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works Following Fatal Explosion

December 23, 2025, Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today issued two interim safety recommendations in connection with the agency’s ongoing investigation into the August 11, 2025, fatal explosion at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works facility in Clairton, Pennsylvania. The explosion occurred when coke oven gas was released from…...

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OSHRC vacates an Extension Cord citation (1910.305(g)(1)(iv)(A))

The company is a structural fabricator of aluminum, steel, and metals used in water and wastewater plants across the United States. OSHA selected the facility from a random list for inspection pursuant to its National Emphasis Program (NEP) to minimize amputation hazards. Following the inspection on May 13, 2024, OSHA issued the facility a Citation…...

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United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit OVERTURNS OSHA citation for fall protection on top of grain railcars at a grain handling facility

PLEASE NOTE: The law protects the company – NOT the worker. This is a “legal” decision that flies in the face of a recognized hazard. It is also laughable that the FRA would enforce the safety needs for this recognized hazard at a private business that is using its own trackmobile to move the cars…...

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EPA RMP Citations @ Bakery (NH3 & $133K)

Respondent owns and operates an ammonia refrigeration system at its bakery. The Facility maintains an amount of anhydrous ammonia within its system that is above the 10,000 lbs threshold quantity that is set forth in Table 1 at 40 C.F.R. § 68.130. The Facility is subject to Program 3 because the covered process is subject…...

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Line Break Gone Bad (Caustic & $121K)

At 2:30 p.m. on August 28, 2019, employees were removing a flange blank on caustic liquid pipeline that was supposed to be evacuated but wasn’t. The employees were sprayed with caustic liquid and suffered chemical burns to their face and eyes. Two of the employees required hospitalization for treatment and three others were injured but…...

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Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) kills 2 workers in pit accident

Three (3) workers were exposed to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) while cleaning a chemical pit at a company, leaving two dead and one hospitalized. Two (2) workers died, and a third was rescued…. Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...

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