At 4:15 p.m. on December 6, 2021, a contractor, 26, removed transmitters from tanks to winterize the facilities. As the employee removed the bolts and loosened the transmitter from a tank, the contents (50% concentration of Sodium Hydroxide) sprayed out and onto the employee’s eyes, face, head, and chest (upper torso). The employee attempted to…...
Fundamentally, employers and employees must be alert to the fact that working with a “closed system” does not always ensure safety. Operations involving the opening of valves or pumps on otherwise closed systems or working on such equipment that is not isolated or locked/tagged out are particular sources of danger. When a normally closed system…...
Another example shows us that serious hazards can be found OUTSIDE of chemical processes, and applying the Line Break/Equipment Opening Procedure and Permit to these hazards could go a long way in controlling these recognized hazards. DEFINING and QUANTIFYING “hazardous energy” sources is STEP 1 in ensuring the process/system can be safely opened. Step 2…...
