Last week I posted the investigation findings from a triple fatality event near my hometown that was caused by a 70+-year-old LPG cylinder that was 33 years PAST its recertification/requalification date AND was overfilled. Now the BSEE has shared a SAFETY ALERT regarding a Nitrogen Compressed Gas cylinder that catastrophically failed injuring three (3) workers and causing property damage. The failure...

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) acted within its authority when it adopted rules strengthening safety and health requirements for agricultural labor housing (ALH), the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed in written legal advice. The legal advice clears away any potential doubt about the division’s authority to enforce its amended ALH rule, parts of...

Section 1910.255(e) requires that a periodic inspection of resistance welding equipment be made by qualified maintenance personnel and that a certification record be generated and maintained. The certification shall include: … HomeRead More »

At 10:30 am, on October 16, 2023, Employee #1, 20, was working for a construction gas & oil support contractor. Coworkers were cutting and welding an eye-lifting plate on a compressor skid. A fire hazard consisting of miscellaneous petroleum products had been allowed to accumulate on, in, and around the compressor skid area. … HomeRead More »

I think most EHS professionals will agree that bulk tanks of hazardous materials need some means of “secondary containment”. This practice has been in place for my entire career and rarely gets challenged. However, in recent years I have come across several scenarios where either the facility/unit designed the process to function this way or operations have learned how they can operate...

This Service Advisory is to inform you of actions you need to take regarding your MSA SENTRY io controllers if your unit is installed in an outdoor location or other environment subject to water ingress. If your unit is not installed in either of these conditions, no action is needed. Potentially affected models were manufactured between March 1, 2023, and February 14, 2025, and are listed in Table...

Source: Norfolk Nebraska Fire and Rescue Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/NorfolkNEFireRescue?__tn__=%2Cd-UC*F

Today, the CSB released a second update on its ongoing investigation into the fatal hydrogen sulfide (H2S) release that occurred on October 10, 2024, at the PEMEX Deer Park Refinery in Deer Park, Texas. Two contract workers died during the incident, and over 27,000 pounds of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas were released. Local authorities issued shelter-in-place orders lasting several hours for the neighboring...

We see this far too often… a management system failure related to 3-year PSM/RMP audits. A company with multiple facilities should be “trending” its 3-year audit findings to IDENTIFY opportunities for improvement across the company. I did this years ago when I was a member of the Corporate EHS Team for a semi-conductor. And was it ever eye-opening? Just simply doing a number count...

The explosion at an auto repair shop in Hillsboro, OH that claimed the lives of three (3) workers, aged 19, 33, and 47 in 2023 has been determined to have been caused by a rupture to an LPG cylinder that had been overfilled and past its requalification date by 33 years. I would also like to make note of the following facts, as stated in the SFM report, that could have played a role in this tragedy....

The Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of State Fire Marshal (SFM) is in the process of updating all chapters of Ohio Administrative Code sections 1301:7-7-01 – 1301:7-7-80, collectively known as the Ohio Fire Code (OFC). When the update process is complete, the new 2025 OFC will be adopted and is currently anticipated to take effect in late summer 2025. Most recently the Comment Period was completed...

A video I posted over two years ago has come full circle. A citizen (some may call him homeless) was allowed to sit (and smoke) within 20′ of a gasoline tanker unloading operation at a gas station. His actions may not have been his sole demise, as we can see in the video evidence that the two workers charged with unloading the tanker FAILED to follow their procedures and PROPERLY VENT the vapors...