OSHA Launches their PSM Covered Chemical Facilities NEP

It’s here!!!!!!  OSHA announced today they are officially EXPANDING the PSM Covered Chemical Facilities National Emphasis Program (NEP) to cover the ENTIRE NATION and State Plans.  This Instruction applies OSHA-wide. Both programmed and unprogrammed inspections will take place in all OSHA Regions and will begin immediately in all Regions.  Some Key Points to share with your management teams so that they can know what to expect are …

This NEP expands the PSM-Covered Chemical Plants National Emphasis Program nationwide to all OSHA Regions and State Plans. Facility categories have been reduced from three (3) in the pilot NEP to two(2):
1.    facilities likely to have ammonia used for refrigeration as the only Highly Hazardous Chemical (HHC) and
2.    all other facilities.

The number of programmed inspections required per Area Office has been reduced to allow more thorough inspections where needed.  OSHA wants more focus on quality of inspections and less on reaching a goal of the number of inspections by each area office.

A requirement to verify abatement of previous OSHA PSM citations has been added to this NEP.  In other words, if there are previous citations that they find are deficient again, it could mean serious problems.  After all, Process Safety Management is all about MANAGEMENT systems and ALL fixes should be long-term management system fixes that are still in place years after the abatement of the OSHA citation.

This NEP differs from the program-quality-verification (PQV) approach in PSM CPL 02-02-045. Inspections done using the PQV are broad and open-ended, while inspections using this NEP rely on SPECIFIC investigative questions. The investigative questions are designed to gather facts related to requirements of the PSM standard, and include guidance for reviewing documents, interviewing workers, and verifying FULL IMPLEMENTATION.  Based on inspection history at refineries and large chemical plants, OSHA has found that employers may have an extensive written process safety management program, but INSUFFICIENT PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION.  Therefore, Compliance Safety and Health Officer’s (CSHOs) will verify the implementation of PSM elements to ensure that the employer’s actual program is consistent with their written program.  They will select one or more units and use a dynamic list(s) of questions to review PSM compliance.  

The Directorate of Enforcement Programs  (DEP) continuously develops dynamic lists in three categories:
1.    PSM General,
2.    Ammonia Refrigeration, and
3.    Chemical Processing

For inspection integrity purposes, OSHA will NOT publicly disclose the dynamic lists. The dynamic lists will only be posted on OSHA’s DEP/PSM intranet website. CSHOs must download and use the dynamic list(s) “Effective” at the time of the opening conference. For inspection preparation purposes, DEP will post the dynamic list(s) about 7 days before they become effective. CSHOs will evaluate compliance with EACH ITEM on the dynamic list.  If, during the compliance evaluation, they determine that PSM deficiencies may exist outside of the selected unit or dynamic list questions, the inspection may be expanded after consultation with their Area Director.

CSHOs will inspect BOTH the host employer AND CONTRACT EMPLOYERS, if any.

CSHOs will request a list of the chemicals on site and their respective maximum intended inventories. They will then review the list of chemicals and quantities, and determine if there are HHCs listed in 1910.119 Appendix A or flammable liquids or gases at or above the specified threshold quantity.  They may ask questions, conduct interviews, or conduct a walk around to confirm the information on the list of chemicals and maximum intended inventories. If they determine that there are no HHCs, flammable liquids, or flammable gases present in sufficient quantities and the facility is not manufacturing explosives or pyrotechnics as defined in 1910.109, then, after updating the Area Office, they shall document the finding and end the inspection.

If management believes that the process is exempt, CSHOs will ask the employer to provide documentation or other information that demonstrates why the process is exempt.  CSHO’s may ask questions, conduct interviews, or conduct a walk around to confirm that the process is NOT covered.

During the opening conference, CSHOs will familiarize themselves with the establishment’s emergency response procedures and emergency alarms.  CSHOs will also request that the management representative(s) provide an overview of the processes/units at the facility, including block flow and/or process flow diagrams indicating chemicals and processes involved. To understand the basics of the employer’s processes and the possible catastrophic scenarios that could occur, the inspection team will ask the management representative to explain worst-case catastrophic release scenarios that might occur and what controls are in place to prevent them from happening.  It is during the opening meeting, CSHOs will determine the nature of the PSM-covered process.

Each dynamic list contains approximately 10-15 primary and 5 secondary questions. CSHOs will choose the appropriate number of primary questions according to the table above. Questions that are deemed not appropriate should be replaced with secondary questions from the appropriate list. CSHOs should use the secondary list questions in the order that they are listed.

After the opening conference, the inspection will begin with a brief initial walk around inspection of those portions of the facility within the scope of the PSM standard. During the initial walk around CSHOs will:

• 1. look for differences between what was presented in the PSM overview discussion and actual conditions;
  2. gather information to aid in the selection of the process unit(s) to be inspected;
  3. obtain a basic overview of the facility’s operations;
  4. observe potential hazards including, but not limited to:
     • pipe work at risk of impact,
     • corroded or leaking equipment,
     • unit or control room siting and trailer location,
     • relief devices and atmospheric vents that discharge to atmosphere, and
     • ongoing construction and maintenance activities
  5. solicit input from workers and their representatives and contract employees concerning potential PSM program deficiencies

The NEP Team Leader will select a PSM-covered process or processes to evaluate for compliance with the standard. For large continuous processes, the Team Leader may select a portion of the covered process, for example, a unit operation within the covered process.  CSHOs may select more than one unit if they feel it is necessary to get a representative sample of the facility’s covered processes based on the size and complexity of the facility. The selection will be based on the factors listed below:

1. 1. Nature (e.g., risk of releasing flammables, high toxicity substances present, high operating pressures and temperatures) and quantity of chemicals involved;
   2. Incident investigation reports, near-miss investigation reports,emergency shutdown records, and other history;
   3. Lead operator’s input;
   4. Age of the process unit;
   5. Factors observed during the walk around;
   6. Worker representative input;
   7. Number of workers present;
   8. Current hot work, equipment replacement, inspection, test and repair records, or other maintenance activities;
   9. Compliance audit records, including open and pending items;
   10. List of contractors.

If the facility is using contractors in PSM covered operations:

1. 1. All contractors (including subcontractors) working on or adjacent to the selected Unit will be inspected.
   2. CSHOs will use the applicable questions in the dynamic list when evaluating contract employer compliance.
   3. If there are no contractors working on or adjacent to the selected Unit throughout the course of the inspection, the Team Leader will choose an additional PSM-covered process where contractors are known to be working and inspect those contractors.

During the course of the inspection, the CSHO will review abatement for all PSM citations issued within the previous 6 years to determine whether the hazard still exists. If a hazard exists, the CSHO will determine whether there has been a failure to abate and issue a notice for failure to abate as appropriate.

Click Here for the PSM Covered Chemical Facilities NEP.