This video is an excellent visual of the expansion ratio of Liquified Natural Gas. During a transfer, a ship broke free and stretched the hose until it broke. It was all captured on cellphone video. … HomeRead More »

A 24-year-old man was crushed when caught between a retort machine and a stack of empty racks carried by a shuttle entering the machine. The victim entered the retort machine to clear dropped food cups from the inside of the machine without locking out the retort, which is typical activity at this location for this process. While inside the machine, the shuttle moved forward with empty racks. An emergency...

State Coordinators distribute ERGs ONLY to their State’s public response organizations. If you are not a public responder, click here for a list of commercial suppliers of the ERG2024. CLICK HERE

The FRA report is a shining example of how a CEO can impact the culture within an organization. CEO Joe Hinrich has made a huge impact at CSX in all aspects, but what he’s done for safety sets him apart. For the FRA to call his work out in their Cultural Assessment is unique across the six Class 1 railroads. Hell one of the railroads got their assessment canceled because of suspected management...

Substitute Senate Bill 5812 (SSB 5812) called for the WSP to “conduct a study of electric vehicle fires reviewing the following: impacts to the environment and proximate residential areas and health impacts to responding firefighters; best practices for fire response; and best practices regarding cleanup and disposal efforts.” This legislative direction is an important complement to Washington State’s...

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is issuing this safety advisory notice to request that consumers, retailers, shippers, and DOT-regulated entities ensure their cylinders containing hazardous gases are in compliance with the hazardous materials regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180) by verifying their cylinders are marked in accordance with a DOT specification or United...

From 1921…

The respondent was the owner or operator of the cheese production facility that used anhydrous ammonia in its refrigeration processes. Respondent was required to have a material safety data sheet for anhydrous ammonia under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. § 651 et seq. , and its associated regulations. Respondent produced, processed, handled, or stored a regulated substance...

The accidents described in this chapter are not due to a fifth type of error. They are due to the failure of senior managers to realize that they could do more to prevent accidents. They are thus mainly due to lack of training, but some may be due to lack of ability and a few to a deliberate decision to give safety a low priority. As stated in Section 5.1, these accidents are sometimes said to be due...

As we have discussed before, energy isolation in a process is VERY DIFFERENT than energy isolation in a manufacturing plant. And the work we do as part of achieving a Zero Energy State (ZES) is the evacuation of hazardous energy. And man, have I seen some hockey setups to evacuate serious hazardous materials! Here is a “hockey” set up involving a flammable petroleum product. What is described...

The respondent was an owner or operator of the ice manufacturing facility where anhydrous ammonia is used in the manufacturing of ice. Anhydrous ammonia, CAS #7664-41-7, has a reportable quantity of 100 pounds, as indicated in 40 C.F.R. Part 355, Appendix A. On July 27, 2023, at or about 4:34 a.m. CDT, a release of anhydrous ammonia from the Respondent’s Facility occurred. It was later determined that...

Respondent operated a manufacturing, packaging, and distribution facility that is located immediately across the street from a residential neighborhood, less than a half mile from a high school and several businesses, and approximately a mile from US. Routes 5 and 84 and the Connecticut River. At all times relevant to the violations alleged herein, the Facility’s ammonia refrigeration system (“System”)...