In December 2006, a journeyman pipefitter (P1) was struck in the chest by a pipe cap that he was removing from a pressurized pipe. Some leaks in an 8-inch waterline needed repair. To help find the leak locations, valves were closed off in the lines, creating sectionalized portions of the air-charged waterline. The waterline was pressurized to 80 psig. After pipe repair was completed, the air was released...

Gas cylinders holding 1.5 ft3 of gas are often filled to ~2,100 psig. At such high pressure, damaged or mishandled cylinders can fracture violently and release enormous amounts of energy, comparable to… … HomeRead More »

Despite their huge diversity, each organizational accident has at least three common features: hazards, failed defences, and losses (damage to people, assets and the environment). Of these, the most promising for effective prevention are the failed defences. Defences, barriers, safeguards, and controls exist at many levels of the system and take a large variety of forms. But each defence serves one...

The NEP was set to expire on April 8, 2025. The extension allows OSHA to continue identifying and addressing heat-related injuries and illnesses in workplaces. The NEP enforcement initiative includes policies and procedures for implementing a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to ensure that employees in high-hazard industries are protected from heat-related hazards, both indoors and outdoors, that may...

Question: Would OSHA accept the documents generated by our software as a substitute for the OSHA Form 300 and Form 300A to meet the requirements of OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation at 29 CFR Part 1904? Response: If the forms generated by your company’s software meet the requirements for equivalent forms at 29 CFR 1904.29 and 1904.32, then these forms could be used by employers to satisfy...

I have seen a cost savings trend that is increasing risks in a big way. It may seem minor to those who do not understand risk, but using a pressure cylinder without it being inspected and tested at its prescribed frequency is a serious safety miss. Usually, these risks are controlled somewhat when the facility has its cylinders filled by a competent 3rd party; notice I said “usually”, as...

So I posed the question to over 30,000 safety pros across my LinkedIn and Facebook groups and SAFTENG members, and as I suspected, there was a lively debate on this matter. I have received numerous requests to break down the evaluation like I have done for other “tricky” spaces that fall outside the traditional CS/PRCS type of spaces. So buckle up as this may be a wild ride for some of...

According to China’s Maritime Safety Administration (CMSA), the shipping container explosion aboard the box ship YM Mobility at Ningbo in 2024 was caused by thermal runaway in a cargo of organic peroxides. The container in question was a refrigerated shipping container filled with tert-butyl perbenzoate (TBPB), a common activator for making plastics like polyethylene and polyester. It becomes...

This edition of NFPA 660 was approved as an American National Standard on December 6, 2024. NFPA 660 was written by consolidating the requirements of NFPA 652, Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust; NFPA 61, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities; NFPA 484, Standard for Combustible Metals; NFPA 655, Standard for Prevention...

The image below is just one I found on the internet, but it is a good representation of the ones I have seen and worked with. Today, during an audit, I was asked by the EHS pro, if I thought there large CNC machines were Confined Spaces/Permit-Required Confined Spaces. At first, I said I did not think so, but was we stood there and began assessing the space, we came to the conclusion that it meets...

Most companies will go to some degree of lengths in selecting “qualified” contractors to include things such as job examples, a list of qualifications, require subscription to the ISN network, etc. Even then, though, sometimes bad apples slip through the cracks if the company needing a “qualified” contractor doesn’t develop a scope or set of expectations for said contractor. But what about who performs...

Recently, I shared the investigation results of the fatal LPG explosion in Hillsboro, OH. The cylinder had been overfilled, leading to its catastrophic failure, which then led to LPG gas finding an ignition source in the car repair garage and exploding. I took some flak for stating that I have seen overfilling of LPG cylinders often. Many believe it to be a rarity. Today I was performing an audit at...