OSHA has cited a texas chemical company for exposing employees to workplace safety and health hazards after a fire and explosion at the plant in November 2019. The company faces $514,692 in fines. OSHA opened an investigation after vapor formed at the base of a butadiene finishing tower ignited and caused several explosions and fires. OSHA cited the facility for three willful violations for failing...

Today, the EPA’s RMP Info Center published the following guidance on the REVISED emergency coordination activities in the RMP Rule.  The Risk Management Program regulations require owners and operators of stationary sources to coordinate their response needs ANNUALLY, or more frequently if necessary, with local emergency planning and response organizations (40 CFR §68.93(a)). Are stationary...

UPDATED 6/4/2020 with an FR face-covering item. (NOT an endorsement!) Westex UltraSoft® FR Face Mask 7oz. Westex UltraSoft® 88% Cotton / 12% High Tenacity Nylon Sizes: Regular Colors: Orange (OR) Style: FR9805 Source: https://rascofr.com/product-category/face-covering/ Last week the good folks are DuPont opened a can of proverbial worms that about a dozen of us have been hotly debating behind the...

Occupational safety used to be so simple and I believe we were better off then than where we are now.  When I started in the chemical industry in 1993, safety was a condition of employment.  What does that mean… you don’t follow the safety procedures and practices you will not be employed at the facility!  With OSHA’s PSM standard came a very formal “employee...

Have you seen this yet?  If not, you most likely will either via your social media activity or by e-mail.  This week this picture and various stories about what happened have gone “viral” after a Wisconsin Fire District posted it on their FB Account as an attempt to educate their followers.  The “shares” are over 6K as of this morning and it is now being circulated...

Today I read in the news that a Police Chief of a metropolitan area announced his resignation amid a lot of turmoil in the city and within his Department.  And in the news story, I was taken back by the Metro Council President… “If the officers don’t feel in tune with their police chief, it displays itself on the street. And so, I think it’s very important for the police...

This week we saw OSHA issue two willful and three serious violations totaling $122,602 to a sperm bank for bulls (cattle) after an employee was asphyxiated while filling freezers with Liquid Nitrogen.  And back in 2017, we saw another sperm bank, this one for humans, have a Nitrogen incident which claimed the life of a Deputy Sheriff and critically injured the supervisor of the business. ...

I am sharing this citation as Nitrogen (N2) use is becoming more and more popular in businesses that often times may not have the level of safety necessary to store and handle this level of hazardous materials.  I have personally seen N2 being used in personal grooming services and microbrewing and now this was a bull “stud” facility where I am guessing they were freezing the sperm. ...

These photos from a recent tank barge explosion serve as a stark reminder of how dangerous cargo tank cleaning and gas freeing operations can be if safety regulations under Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1915 and Title 33 CFR Part 154 are not followed, and equipment is not properly maintained and inspected before each use. Although the investigation into this casualty is not yet complete,...

The United States Coast Guard issued a Marine Safety Alert after they discovered three (3) separate Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers with issues with their fixed flammable gas detection systems that resulted in the issuance of deficiencies and delay of cargo operations. While witnessing tests, multiple sensors measured outside the tolerances established by the manufacturer and subsequent calibration...

Respondent owns and operates an agricultural storage and supply facility where on August 16, 2016, an accidental release of anhydrous ammonia occurred when filling a storage tank. The release resulted in the hospitalization of an employee. On or about March 12, 2019, representatives of the EPA conducted an inspection of Respondent’s Facility to determine compliance with Section 112(r) of the...

Date of incident: March 2014 Notice of incident number: 2014155400035 Employer: Heavy equipment manufacturer Incident summary Two workers were bending aluminum tubing as they assembled a decanting post, a metal pipe structure used to decant liquid natural gas from tanks. Another worker was pressure testing a nearby decanting post to identify leaks. An explosion occurred in a hose attached to the decanting...