From NFPA’s 2021 70E Factsheet… Article 110: Some requirements in Article 110 have been reorganized for a more logical progression, including moving general principles of lockout/tagout from Section 120.2 and general principles of an electrically safe work condition and energized work requirements from Section 130.2. New subsection 110.5(K) REQUIRES that an employer’s electrical...

by Roger F. Evans CSP, CHMM, SGE Often times you will hear stories of “centurions” citing specific lifestyles and/or attributes they believe have contributed to their longevity.  Their stories are often quite interesting.  They will talk about their diet, work habits, exercise scheme, family life, and their own personal secrets to their longevity, etc. In the same manner, there...

A tower mechanic was entering a fractionation vessel at a gas facility to prepare a final inspection of the vessel. The interior of the vessel was under a nitrogen purge, and the worker was using supplied air. Shortly after entering the vessel, the worker went into distress. The on-site emergency response team extracted the worker and provided first aid. The incident resulted in a fatality. …...

An operator was found unresponsive at an Oil Battery. The operator’s body was found lying inside a partially open utilidor where a valve was open and gas escaping. The battery is a sour gas (oil & gas with hydrogen sulphide) site. The Medical Examiner report stated the cause of death was due to hydrogen sulphide exposure. Operator 1 (fatally injured worker) had been working to unblock a needle...

A bleeder valve was left open during transport truck anhydrous ammonia delivery, causing a large amount of ammonia to enter and violently rupture an aluminum caged plastic Intermediate bulk container (IBC or tote) filled with water. The IBC/Tote rupture released ammonia and the delivery driver suffered fatal injuries and other workers, including a facility employee, a responding deputy sheriff, and...

NOTE: this occurred in 2007 – I just missed it in my research and just now posting it. At a meat product processing plant Employee #1 and Employee #2 were working on the production floor near a section of piping that had been removed the prior day during the rerouting of an ammonia refrigerant line. The accident happened when the plant coordinator and two maintenance supervisors tried to move...

At approximately 5:40 pm. on October 17, 2007, a wiring employee came to a press brake to get more pieces from Employee #1, a press operator. Employee #1 turned and put down a piece, collapsed to the floor, and experienced convulsions. The wiring employee panicked and asked the laser operator for help. The laser operator cleared the area. As he stood from the kneeled position, he also became lightheaded...

On December 31, 2008, a welder was preparing to conduct TIG welding on a 2″ X 65″ run of pipe located in the vent trunk compartment of an aluminum vessel under construction. The estimated height where the pipe entered the compartment was about 1.5′ from the bottom of the deck. … HomeRead More »

It is not unusual to hear many engineers lay claim that by using stainless steel piping, that they are fully eliminating the risk of corrosion under insulation (CUI) within their piping circuits.  But could stainless steel piping be susceptible to CUI much like it’s cousin in the piping family… carbon steel? The short answer is YES, even stainless steel can fall prey to corrosion in...

At 1:30 p.m. on May 14, 2000, an employee was painting the inside a 200,000-gallon potable water storage tank. At some point, the employee collapsed and was rescued from the space by two coworkers who provided CPR until emergency medical services arrived. The employee died of Cardiomegaly (enlarged heart). Even though this death was NOT related to the PRCS work, OSHA still took serious issue with the...

On or about May 28th, 2020 at approximately 15:30 hours three (3) employees were exposed to fire and explosion hazards when a remediation repair (on a produced water tank) involved a grinder for preparing the surface and a heat gun for preparing an epoxy on a tank which had accumulated hydrocarbon vapors from the produced water contained earlier in the day. The result of not monitoring hydrocarbon...

At 6:15 a.m. on May 22, 2020, an employee and a coworker were in the process of transferring chemicals from totes on a delivery truck into tanks inside the facility. The deceased employee was responsible for hooking up a hose to the fill line on the building and monitoring the transfer from inside the facility. A coworker was responsible for hooking up the hose to the pump and tote inside the truck. The...