PSM and RMP Citations/Analysis

A contractor lost consciousness from ammonia exposure at an ice cream plant leading OSHA to propose more than $200,000 in fines against the company and the contractor.Here is a breakdown of the citations to the facility and the contractor…… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log...

Respondent is the owner and/or operator of a Refinery with the NAICS code of 32411, Petroleum Refineries. The Facility refines low sulfur yellow crude into ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, naptha, heavy gas oil, and vacuum tower bottoms and those processes contain flammable mixtures of regulated substances listed in Table 3 of 40 C.F .R. §…...

NOTE: I normally do not post such small cases; however, this one involved the use of The Chlorine Institute pamphlets as the referenced RAGAGEP and because it is so rare we see Cl2 PSM/RMP citations I wanted to add it to the database. Based on a compliance monitoring inspection conducted at the Respondent’s facility on…...

Respondent is the owner and/or operator of the Facility, which operates an aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing plant.  Respondent has registered an RMPlan with the EPA for its Facility and has developed an RMProgram accidental release prevention program for the Facility. At its Facility:… Membership Required You must be a member to access this...

Respondent is the owner and/or operator of the facility, which produces fully cooked and ready-to-eat sauces and refrigerated entrees. On December 26, 2018, the EPA issued to Respondent a Notice of Potential Violation (“NOPV”), providing notice that the EPA found that Respondent potentially committed the alleged violations described in Section V of this Agreement and…...

Respondent operates an ammonia refrigeration plant with 50,629 pounds of anhydrous ammonia which is an RMProgram level 3 covered process. On March 27, 2019, the EPA conducted an on-site inspection of the RMProgram related records and equipment for the purpose of assessing the Respondent’s compliance with the RMProgram requirements and the implemented recognized and generally…...

On January 17, 2020, EPA performed an inspection of the Facility pursuant to Section 112(r) of the CAA, Sections 304-312 of EPCRA, and Section 103 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. Based upon the information gathered during this inspection and subsequent investigation, EPA asserts that Respondent violated certain provisions of the CAA…...

Respondent owns and operates a chemical manufacturing facility that has a chlorine (Cl2) process at the stationary source in excess of the applicable threshold quantity. The chlorine-covered process is subject to the “Program 3” requirements of the Risk Management Plan (RMP) regulations and must, among other things, to comply with the Program 3 Prevention Program…...

This case involves a citation regarding the “grandfather training clause” found in both OSHA’s PSM and EPA’s RMP.  I have never seen it cited before, but I take my hat off to the EPA inspector for peeling that onion! Basically, this food facility had two (2) employees who had been hired in January and September…...

The Respondent owns and/or operates a chemical manufacturing facility that uses: A. Oleum (fuming sulfuric acid) [sulfuric acid, mixture with sulfur trioxide] (“Oleum”); B. Hydrogen fluoride/hydrofluoric acid (cone 50% or greater) [hydrofluoric acid] (“Hf “). in a fluoroproducts process and a sulfuric acid process.  From August 28 – 31, 2018, EPA conducted an inspection of…...

The Facility is a nitrogenous fertilizer manufacturing facility that produces anhydrous ammonia, urea solutions, urea-ammonium nitrate, and by-product gaseous carbon dioxide. The Facility also produces intermediates (including nitric acid and ammonium nitrate solution) during the manufacture of the above products. Based on the quantity of anhydrous ammonia present at the Facility, the Facility is subject…...

Respondent owns and operates a biopharmaceutical facility that stores and uses anhydrous ammonia in parts of the storage and refrigeration process. Respondent’s storage and refrigeration process does not meet the eligibility requirements for Program 1 under 40 C.F.R. § 68.10(g) and is subject to the OSHA process safety management standard since the process involves ammonia…...