At 3:00 p.m. on January 11, 2018, an employee was working with two coworkers with clearing a blockage in the product discharge system in the Polypropylene Unit. The employee and coworkers opened the process piping at a sample catching location and a flash fire occurred. The employee who made the line opening received first and second degree burns to his face and neck during the flare up. He was transported...

The company retained a contractor to provide industrial cleaning services at the plant. An employee of the cleaning service was working alone, cleaning the area around various injection molding machines. The worker approached the robot cage at an injection molding machine, intending to enter for cleaning purposes. Two robots located inside the cage pick, trim and place vehicle bumpers from the injection...

​On May 23, 2018, at 0010 local time, a fire was detected in a cargo hold on board the cargo ship Chipolbrok Moon while moored at the Industrial Terminal West in Greens Bayou in the Port of Houston, Texas. Some of the vessel’s 24 crewmembers had completed hot work in that space about 25 minutes before the alarm sounded. The crew manually activated the fixed CO2 fire-extinguishing system in the affected...

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on May 25, 2018, three employees were working for a firm that disposed of waste and operated solid waste landfills. They were working at an oil and gas site. Three tanks were being decommissioned. They had been assisting in containing a spill during the decommissioning. The tanks were moved from the site to the bottom of a hill. There, a worker from a separate company cut...

On June 24, 2018, a 33-year-old male career part-time fire fighter (Fire Fighter 2) died after being struck in the head by a pressurized compressed-air self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) cylinder. Fire Fighter 2 was working his regular shift at Station 22 and was assisting Fire Fighter 1 and an off-duty captain with the inspection of a lot of 22 used SCUBA cylinders. The SCUBA cylinders...

Respondent is a Wisconsin corporation, with cream cheese and yogurt manufacturing facility. On April 17, 2017, EPA representatives conducted an inspection of the Facility following a reported release of anhydrous ammonia on September 6, 2016, to determine Respondent’s compliance with Section 103 of CERCLA and Sections 302-312 of EPCRA. During the EPA Inspection, Respondent ‘s personnel...

Respondent owns and operates a food facility that had greater than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in a process at its facility. From the time Respondent first had onsite greater than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in a process, Respondent was subject to the requirements of Section 112(r) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. § 7412(r), and 40 C.F.R. Part 68 because it was an owner and operator of a stationary...

To provide a glimpse of what kind of fun I get to have in process safety, I wanted to start a series of chemical profiles of some of the nasty hazardous materials I work with and why so many of my clients are such sticklers for meeting all of the different codes/standards/RAGAGEPS to the letter in the design, construction and maintenance of their process(s).  Let’s face it, some of...

OSHA is considering whether to initiate rulemaking to revise its control of hazardous energy standard for general industry. One aim of this RFI is to seek public comment on the modernization of the control of hazardous energy standard without compromising worker safety. OSHA is requesting information from the public on its control of hazardous energy standard to help the agency determine how to best...

On April 15, 2014, Employee #1, a maintenance technician employed by Solarworld Industries America Inc., and Coworker #1, a tool operator in the plant’s fabrication area, was working at the employer’s solar cell manufacturing facility. Coworker #1 had submitted a work order to repair a leak of liquid hydrofluoric acid (HF). HF is used in the manufacture of solar cells in a process similar...

The defendant is the operator of a facility that handles, stores, and uses anhydrous ammonia in its industrial refrigeration system. GENERAL ALLEGATIONS At all relevant times, Defendant maintained a refrigeration system at the Facility and that system utilized, processed, handled, or stored anhydrous ammonia, a “regulated substance” under CAA Section 112(r)(3). EPA conducted an inspection of the Facility...