Prayers to all involved, but things at the WA State Paper Mill are looking far more serious than what the media is saying. This is looking like a “white liquor tank” event based on the images I have seen (SAFTENG members can see them below). Emergency responders have confirmed: 10 individuals were transported to area…...
OSHA, IFC, and NFPA have “separation distance” requirements for flammable liquid storage tanks. These requirements have been around longer than I have been dealing with hazardous materials and process safety, and yet we always come across some wildly out of “compliance” arrangements of these flammable liquid tanks. using OSHA’s Flammable Liquid Standard 1910.106 we can…...
On April 30, 2026, a miner, 2, with 4 weeks and 2 days of experience at the mine, died while filling a water trailer when it overturned. MSHA is still investigating. This is their preliminary report…. Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...
The Fire Chief was talking about the phase change occurring inside the MMA tank. These are the critical temps for that to happen…. Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...
So I went back in time using Google Earth, and the last clear image was on June 1, 1994, and the three (3) tanks were present. Now, I have no idea if they were being used for MMA at that time. But the three (3) tanks were present, along with the larger tank next to…...
Following the 2012 Chevron Refinery Fire, California created an Interagency Refinery Task Force (IRTF) headed by CalEPA, with participation from the Department of Industrial Relations and 11 other federal, state, and local agencies and departments. The purpose of Program 4 is to prevent major incidents at petroleum refineries to protect the health and safety of…...
Not sure why “Over Pressure” events get all the attention. It is my belief that we destroy more vessels each year due to a vacuum than we do with over-pressure events. Of course, overpressure events have more layers of protection because they pose far greater risks. In my career, I have seen these failures occur…...
The tragic fatal explosion that claimed a Firefighter’s life last week has a lot of folks claiming this was a COM DUST event. But after close examination of scene photos, I am confident this event was a syn-gas explosion with possibly some “fines” igniting during the event. These events are not all that rare and…...
Storing Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) requires a delicate engineering balance. Because it is both a Class IB Flammable Liquid and a Class 2 Unstable Reactive, the storage design must simultaneously mitigate the vapor-fire hazard while actively feeding the chemical inhibitor to prevent thermal runaway. When evaluating bulk storage tanks from a Process Safety Management (PSM) perspective,…...
The simple answer is yes, we can use ACGIH TLVs or NIOSH RELs to calculate the Maximum Use Concentration (MUC), but with one ABSOLUTE regulatory caveat: The resulting limit must be more protective (stricter) than what the OSHA standard dictates, or be applied to a chemical that OSHA does not currently regulate. Under 1910.134(b), OSHA…...
For those curious, it will take around 27 pounds of Phenothiazine (PTZ) to successfully QUENCH the reaction, or, as some may call it, “short-stopping”. But these events usually occur in a “process vessel” that has an agitator. These tanks in CA do NOT appear to have agitators; however, they may be able to “mix” the…...
A lot of folks are angry that they have been forced from their homes, especially over a holiday weekend when families travel to visit families. I understand their anger, and I applaud the OCFA for their communication efforts to explain their decisions. So, for those of you who do not live and work in the…...
