OSHA and Santa
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UPDATE – Calling the National Response Center
Who at your place of business calls the National Response Center after your business has experienced a chemical incident. Not many people have ever had to call this center (luckily!) but if your business ever does have a “reportable release” a call just like this one MUST BE MADE within 30 minutes after you have…...
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Entry into PRCS’s protected by a fixed fire protection system
I could have sworn I had already written about this hazard, but I’m guessing it was inside one of my social media groups. So BUCKLE UP, Butter Cup, as this is going to make a lot of folks unhappy. Question: Do I have to isolate my fixed fire suppression system protecting my PRCS?… Membership Required...
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The power of a vacuum (photo)
What happens when you try to pull water out of a tank using a 3HP pump and leave the vent closed… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...
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Brittle Fracture (Catastrophic) Failure during HYDROTEST of Propane Bullet
I have posted numerous fatal accidents that occurred during the pressure testing of piping and pressure vessels. Although hydrostatic testing involves less energy release should something fail vs. using pneumatic pressure, the hazard(s) are still HUGE and must be respected. This incident involved a propane bullet built in 1994 and placed into service in 1996,…...
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Hydrostatic test of a cooling coil for an air-cooled heat exchanger fatality (OK-FACE)
A 43-year-old assemblyman died on May 26, 1999, from chest injuries he received earlier that day when struck by a high-pressure water jet emitted after the failure of a gasket during a hydrostatic test of a cooling coil for an air-cooled heat exchanger. At the time of the incident, the victim was part of a…...
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What is a process?
A process, in terms of Process Safety Management, is defined as: “Any activity involving a regulated substance including any use, storage, manufacturing, handling or on-site movement of such substances, or any combination of these activities. For the purposes of this definition, any group of vessels that are interconnected, or separate vessels that are located such that a regulated substance could…...
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Fire Watch for your roofing contractor may have a 2-hr requirement
One of the debates we routinely have with fellow process safety professionals is the adoption of NFPA 51B vs. meeting 1910.252(a) requirements for their Hot Work safe work practice. I am a huge fan of NFPA 51B, as it is much more up-to-date than OSHA’s 1910.252, which, by the way, was based on the first…...
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Massive Leak of Liquefied Chlorine Gas (Henderson, NV 1991)
A massive leak of liquefied chlorine gas created a dangerous cloud of poison gas over the city of Henderson, Nevada, in the early morning hours of May 6, 1991. Over 200 persons were examined at a local hospital for respiratory distress caused by inhalation of the chlorine, and approximately 30 were admitted for treatment. Some…...
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The advantage of utilizing a Contractor Work Permit
Those of us living within the realm of Process Safety Management know all too well the difficulty of controlling contractor work activities to a level that we are confident they are not increasing our process risks beyond our acceptable levels. Many contractors are offended by the fact that many PSM programs have multiple layers of…...
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Sample Protocol for a Response Plan (General Outline)
Industrial Incident Guidelines for Incident Command Arrival on Scene, Initiation of Response, see: Agent Identification Quick identification by signs/symptoms: CHEMM-IST Substance identification: WISER Acute Patient Care Guidelines Estimation of Protective Distance/Threat Zone On-site Activities Triage Guidelines Hospital Activities Personal Protective Equipment General Guidelines for Responding to a Fire General Guidelines for Responding to a Spill…...
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What does “relief system design basis” mean?
Relief systems include, but are not limited to, relief valves, relief headers, relief drums, and rupture disks. Design basis means documenting how the loads and sizes of the relief system and inlet and outlet sizes were determined. This includes:… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log...
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