Safety Info Posts

It took two (2) years, but HFO-1234yf is now an NFPA Flammable “4”

Back in early 2015, I began working with some clients who were questioning their having to enter into the Process Safety arena because of a new refrigerant that was going into automobiles.  Early in our discussions I was appalled that this flammable refrigerant had been “marketed and sold” with the description of being a “mildly flammable”…...

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2017 Video of the Week #41 (PRCS Accident – “Precious Time – The Cody McNolty story”)

On October 4,2001 Cody McNolty was working as a welder’s assistant in northern British Columbia. He was helping his father refit a log barge.  Four workers were rendered unconscious from a lack of oxygen. Dan McNolty (the father) died. Precious Time documents Cody’s story, a story of confined space rescue that goes tragically wrong.  Precious Time was created…...

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Flaring off NH3 and a few things to consider

This week social media once again provided us an eye-opening video… flaring off an MC331 Tanker of anhydrous ammonia (NH3).  In my days, I have flared off both tanker trucks and railcars, and even worked with flaring systems on refrigerated atmospheric bulk storage tanks of NH3 at large NH3 terminals and NH3 manufacturing plants.  The…...

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Sharing bad safety programs is a bad safety practice

In this profession we have a saying when it comes to written safety programs… “steal with pride”. We learn early on in our careers that not much changes in OSHA standards so finding someone who already has a written program, training powerpoint, permits, checklist, etc. that we can just “steal it” rather than “recreating the…...

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OSHA clarifies “forklift modifications” requirements

Sometimes we can find the most concise explanations from OSHA in these Extensions of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements.  This week OSHA posted an extension notice regarding the paperwork requirements found in 1910.178 Powered Industrial Trucks Standard.  It is in this posting that OSHA does such a nice…...

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Off-Site/Open Enrollment Emergency Response Courses and their limitations

As almost everyone has felt the financial squeeze at some point during their career and we seem to be feeling it more and more these days. As auditors that travel the world, we are still seeing the negative ripple effects of the 2009/2010 recession in the United States in 2017 and probably will continue to…...

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BFD Ammonia Fatality Radio Traffic w/ timeline

This fatal anhydrous ammonia accident occurred in March 2016 at a seafood processing plant in Boston, MA.  The Boston Fire Department (BFD) is one of the top fire departments in the United States.  These radio communications are being shared as a “learning opportunity” for SAFTENG members.  Not only is the radio traffic telling by the…...

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EPA RMP citations @ cold storage facility (NH3 & $95K)

Respondent is the owner and/or operator of a stationary source that uses, handles, and/or stores more than a threshold quantity of anhydrous ammonia, a regulated substance, as specified at 40 C.F.R. §§ 68.115 and 68.130.  EPA conducted an inspection of the Facility on December 12, 2016 and EPA observed alleged violations of 40 C.F.R. part 68…....

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Fatal Hot Work – Tank Explosion (September 2017)

                                            This week we saw another fatal hot work explosion associated with welding on a container/vessel.  This time we lost a 29-year-old father, who was supposedly standing on or next to the tank when it…...

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