At 3:10 p.m. on February 2, 2022, an employee, 26, was performing maintenance on a System Applicator. The employee began the ammonia bleeding procedure wearing safety glasses and rubber gloves. After approximately 20 to 30 minutes, the employee no longer heard a whistling sound and believed that the system was completely bled out. When the employee removed the filter cap, the remaining anhydrous ammonia...

It seems the games may never end with HFO-1234yf and it’s designation as a Highly Hazardous Chemical (HHC) within the Process Safety Management Standard.  A friend of a friend in the automobile manufacturing industry contacted me about their use of this new refrigerant.  The friend/client shared all of my previous articles explaining how HFO-1234yf is a PSM-covered chemical.  But...

When workers say to me, “that hardly ever happens” I just shake my head.  It happens far more often than most people think.  I mean, think about why did OSHA promulgate the LOTO standard – people were turning on machines with workers inside.  But this case was exceptionally bad!  A father found his son inside a ribbon blender without LOTO being applied.  He...

A fine example of how the safety profession has drifted from science is the vast misunderstanding of hazardous gases.  From their hazards to their behaviors, we have a lot of myths and misconceptions about hazardous gases.  Sadly, the fact that OSHA does not have a “flammable gas” standard plays a role in this situation – hence we have a profession too dependent on OSHA...

In this month’s CT-OSHA Safety Newsletter, the agency is pushing the ANSI Z358.1–2014 standard as their baseline EW/SS enforcement standard.  The entire newsletter, which you should sign-up for, is dedicated to EW/SS’s and is full of great info.  I am not a lawyer, but I do not think they can enforce a consensus standard that has not been adopted or at least “incorporated...

The April 2022 incident that was reported as “two (2) men down on the property” was actually a PRCS accident involving a railcar at the repair facility.  IN-OSHA released its findings last month and issued $113,400 to the business.  One worker passed away, and the other survived.  Here is a breakdown of IN-OSHA’s PRCS citations: … HomeRead More »

On April 21, 2021, two employees were working inside a rail tank car that had previously contained pressurized propane. The two employees were conducting ultrasonic testing on the welds of the interior of the tank car. Employee one exited the tank manway and expressed concern that he was starting to smell something. Employee three, the attendant, immediately told employee one that he and employee two...

Nevada OSHA adopted regulation R069-20, which includes the adoption by reference of ANSI Z358.1-2014 for Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment.  By adopting ANSI Z358.1-2014, Nevada OSHA has identified the minimum design and installation criteria necessary to meet the definition of suitable facilities, which is otherwise undefined in federal statute. Additionally, training requirements have been...

Employee #1 attempted to replace a leaking oil valve on a minus 30 degree freezer when a tank inside the freezer exploded. The company uses anhydrous ammonia to manufacture ice cream. The liquid ice cream mixture (at 50 degrees) is added to the tank. This freezer was down for seven days, and the tank’s oil had congealed. Normal weekly maintenance requires the removal of used oil through the oil...

Employee #1 was working for a firm that, as a subcontractor, performed maintenance on commercial food service equipment. He was in the kitchen area of a single-story restaurant, attempting to locate the source of a refrigerant leak in an ice cream storage dipping cabinet. Employee #1 connected a cylinder containing pressurized nitrogen to the dipping cabinet’s refrigeration system via a hose...

At approximately 9:50 a.m. Employees #1 and #2 worked as mechanical engineering technicians at a food cold storage facility. The two workers were troubleshooting an Auto-Purger. The Auto-Purger removed non-condensable material from the refrigeration system. It was mounted on a wall inside the facility’s anhydrous ammonia compressor room. At the time of the accident, the unit was actively running...

Employees #1 and #2 were draining refrigerant oil from anhydrous ammonia refrigeration system oil traps in fruit cold storage warehouses. They were working approximately 24 feet above floor level on a mobile scissor lift personnel platform (Hyster, V24) using hand tools, including a wrench, a flashlight, and a bucket. The cause of the unexpected ammonia release is unknown. Employees #1 and #2 suffered...