Just about every manufacturing facility will have a compressed air system. Some of these may be the size of what some of us have in our garages, but many will be industrial-sized units. BOTH sizes pose catastrophic risks. As shown in this United Steel Workers Incident Alert, these catastrophic failures can cost lives and jobs. […]
Respondent operated a facility (the “Facility”) that stores and distributes anhydrous ammonia. The Facility receives anhydrous ammonia from oceangoing vessels and stores it in two interconnected insulated tanks. The Facility includes three pressure tanks storing fertilizer-grade ammonia (Fl through F3) and four pressure tanks storing refrigeration-grade ammonia (R1 through R4). Respondent produces, stores, and distributes
Penalty adjustments aim to improve workplace safety WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has updated its guidance on penalty and debt collection procedures in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Field Operations Manual in an effort to minimize the burden on small businesses and increase prompt hazard abatement. “All employers should be offered the
The internet is just full of “consultants” who will take your money to teach your org “SIF”! These snakeoil salespeople are destroying the credibility and trust of the consulting profession, and it must stop. All this rebranding/repackaging of the basic safety efforts from the 90s and 2000s, and then NOT even doing it right, is
A seatbelt is a tool for safety. It is designed, constructed, installed, and at the ready for use. Its cost, availability, and ease of proper use may be the greatest safety invention of our generation. But it’s a tool that requires the human to have the desire to use it. It provides ZERO benefit if
It’s not all that difficult. It won’t break the bank; in fact, it can improve productivity and reduce costs when done well. But it demands a desire to do what is right for the men and women doing our dirty and dangerous work. Without the desire for greatness in safety from the most senior leaders
On July 9, 1959, the Charlotte Fire Department responded to a fire at the former Charlotte Chemical Company on West Templeton Avenue, just off South Boulevard. The building, then under demolition, still housed a large vat of chemical material in the basement. Believing the substance to be kerosene, firefighters fought the fire with standard tactics—until
On March 5, 2025, at 10:55 a.m., a welder, 57, with over seven (7) years of mining experience, died when he became entangled in a belt conveyor tail roller. The accident occurred because the mine operator did not de-energize and block the No. 12 belt conveyor against hazardous motion. GENERAL INFORMATION The mine is a
Recently, we had the never-ending debate about locking out valves being used as energy isolation devices. Somewhere/Sometime ago, a vicious rumor/practice found some legs, and we began seeing the practice during our audits. The unsafe and non-OSHA-compliant practice of disconnecting the power source from a Fail-Safe Closed valve and locking out the valve’s power source
Respondent produced, used, or stored ammonia at the Facility and released a reportable quantity of an EHS, ammonia. On or about August 31, 2022, a “release” of ammonia in excess of 100 pounds occurred at the Facility (the release). As a result of the information obtained by the EPA and subsequent investigation, the Complainant has
I see numerous RMP citations for businesses failing to update its RMP submittal every five years. And the EPA will issue a single citation using 68.190. One day, I hope the EPA will take this a step further and issue another citation against 68.15…
I normally do not share cases that are handled as Expedited Settlement Agreements (ESA) but this one incldued three (3) very common findings during our PSM/RMP audit, so I am sharing this case: Source: https://yosemite.epa.gov/OA/RHC/EPAAdmin.nsf/Filings/55591B2C4849A1E585258CBB006EE6A9/$File/CAA-01-2025-0037%20Bic%20Consumer%20Products%20Final%20Order.pdf
