At 11:45 a.m. on August 28, 2012, an employee was finishing a painting assignment to coat pipes in six confined spaces at a lift station site. The employee was cleaning the pipes using a Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) solvent prior to applying a two-part epoxy paint that contained Xylene, Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK), and Ethyl Benzene. The employee’s supervisor saw him entering the site and later...

We just can’t make this stuff up!!!  This accident happened during a “safety day”… At 8:30 a.m. on May 24, 2018, Employee #1 was in charge of setting up a booth representing the control laboratory for a safety day event at the plant, which involved approximately 1,000 employees, visitors, and vendors. Employee #1 wanted to have a fog effect at the booth to attract visitors....

Fit testing is an ABSOLUTE CRITICAL path in our Respiratory Protection Program; therefore, ensuring it is done CORRECTLY and ACCURATELY is a must. Over the past two years (2018-2019) we have seen nine (9) facilities where they had done their quantitative fit testing; however, upon closer examination of the results of the tests, we found that ERT members (e.g. wearing their SAR in an IDLH atm) passed...

The Ontario Recreation Facilities Association Inc. (ORFA) has reviewed the Fernie, BC Ammonia Triple Fatality investigation report produced by Technical Safety British Columbia (the safety authority and governing body for pressure vessels and operating engineers in BC), and offers the following comparative as it relates to Ontario related legislation, regulations, and registered refrigeration plant...

This is another case of a PLASTIC tote being used for a NON-CONDUCTIVE Flammable Liquid and a serious incident occured due to the failure to control the ignition source… STATIC ELECTRICITY!  SAFTENG Members be sure to check out the posts earlier this year of a very similar incident that was caught on camera (Transferring flammable liquids without a deadman valve can be deadly indeed!). ...

Catastrophic rupture of dead-leg pipe-work Issue Date: 20.08.2019 Target Audience: Operators of Process Plant (and associated inspection bodies) which may have pipe-work dead-legs on toxic, flammable, dangerous to the environment or other critical services. Oil and gas (onshore / offshore) Chemical processing and production Nuclear Pharmaceutical Power production Key Issues: This safety alert highlights...

Respondent owns and operates a meat processing facility that handles approximately 170,300 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. 32. The Facility is a Program 3 Facility under the RMP Regulations, in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 68.10(d). EPA conducted an inspection of the Facility on June 27, 2017, to determine Respondent’s compliance with the RMP Regulations at 40 C.F.R. Part 68 (“the Inspection”). ...

Pursuant to the risk management program regulations under 40 CFR §68.10(b), Program 1 eligibility requires that the process has not had an accidental release of a regulated substance that led to off-site death, injury, or response and restoration activities at an environmental receptor within five years prior to the risk management plan submission. Additionally, as part of the hazard assessment required...

In section 2, element 2.5, of an RMP, facilities must report the quantity of toxic chemical that the facility used for the worst-case analysis. When reporting this data element in RMP*eSubmit for a mixture, should facilities report the entire weight of the toxic mixture potentially being released or only the amount of the regulated toxic substance in the mixture? … HomeRead More »

UPDATED 9/26/22 Pursuant to the Risk Management Program regulations, the owner or operator shall identify and analyze at least one alternative release scenario for each regulated toxic substance held in a Program 2 or Program 3 process above its threshold (40 CFR §68.28). If a facility has both ammonia and ammonia (anhydrous) on-site above their respective thresholds, does the facility owner or operator...

On January 13, 2017, EPA finalized amendments (82 FR 4594) to the Accidental Release Prevention Requirements for Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act, Section 112(r)(7). The amendments were intended to modify: … HomeRead More »