Many THANKS to our NEWEST and CONTINUED "Partners in Safety" for all their support!
Arc Flash During Conductor Checks Causes First and Second Degree Burns
An experienced electrician checking conductors at an industrial facility unknowingly accessed an energized breaker bucket inside a substation and shorted phase to phase on the line side of the energized breaker switch at 347/600V. This resulted in an electrical shock, creating an arc flash. The worker suffered first and second-degree burns to their wrist, hand, and face.
Add new comment
EPA RMP citations @ repackaging facility (Cl2, SO2, Flammables & $261K)
Respondent is the facility's owner and operator. The EPA inspected the Facility from July 27 to July 29, 2021, to determine the Respondent’s compliance with Section 112(r) of the CAAmand 40 C.F.R. Part 68 (“the Inspection”). Operations at Respondent’s Facility include, among others, repackaging chlorine for utilization in sodium hypochlorite bleach manufacturing. The Facility also uses or produces several regulated flammables. The Respondent’s processes meet the definition of “process” and “covered process,” as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3. The Respondent’s RMP program level 3 covered processes store or otherwise use a regulated substance in an amount exceeding the applicable threshold. EPA Findings of Violation Pressure Testing piping with N2 turns fatal
At 8:04 a.m. on May 11, 2023, an employee working for an oil and gas support services company was found dead. On 5/10/23, the night before, the employee had instructed his coworkers from other contractors to go home, and he would finish the job. This was the last time anyone had spoken to the employee until he was found deceased. The employee had been pressure testing a pipe with nitrogen. The pipe had been opened, and nitrogen leaked into the ambient environment. The employee was asphyxiated due to the displacement of oxygen, causing his death. No citations Fire Extinguisher inspection turns fatal
At 8:00 a.m. on May 8, 2014, an employee was inspecting fire extinguishers. The fire extinguisher discharged and struck the employee in the head, killing him.
Fire Extinguisher mainteance work turns fatal
On May 13, 2020, Employee #1 and Employee #2 were working to pressurize portable fire extinguishers. At some point, the extinguisher being worked on by the Employees exploded. Fire Watch dies from burns
On October 16, 2023, Employee #1 worked for a construction gas & oil support contractor. Coworkers were cutting and welding an eye-lifting plate on a compressor skid. Miscellaneous petroleum products had been allowed to accumulate on, in, and around the compressor skid area, creating a fire hazard. Is pressure and leak testing required after maintenance or alterations on piping systems?
It is good that we are finding fewer and fewer facilities without pressure testing and leak testing records on their process piping. But now comes the difficult question: Is pressure and leak testing required after maintenance or alterations on piping systems? So, most companies will have their newly installed piping pressure tested and leak tested by the contractor who performed the installation. But two months into operating said piping, some maintenance work is necessary and this work will require us to OPEN the piping system, make repairs, and then return the piping to service. How many of you will include some type of integrity testing on this circuit of piping that has been opened/altered/repaired BEFORE we return it to service? Using my favorite Piping Maintenance RAGAGEP, API 570, we can see that... Vietnam suffers another industrial mass casualty event (Boiler Explosion kills 6)
Six people were confirmed dead in a boiler explosion at a wood factory in the southern province of Dong Nai on May 1, 2024. The accident also injured five others. The provincial People's Committee has offered condolences and financial support to the victims' families (20 million VND or 789 USD for each fatality and 10 million VND for each injury). The incident occurred at around 8:30 a.m. The injured are receiving treatment at hospitals in the province, and further investigations are being conducted. The simple path to implementing SIF
In the world of industrial safety, we are not at a loss for the desire to try new things. Many consulting companies are waiting to sell us their shiny gadgets. One of these latest crazes is called "SIF"—Serious Injuries and Fatalities. The concept behind this model is based on the progress many have made in reducing their recordable injuries of lesser severity; however, the risk of a significant incident may still be present. Take OSHA data, for example; as a nation, we have seen a drastic drop in "OSHA recordable" injuries, but we have not seen the same drop in fatalities. So the thought process is that we need to IDENTIFY those risks that can lead to a serious injury or fatality (SIF) and analyze the controls/barriers/safeguards we have in place AND their real-time ability to PREVENT, PROTECTION, and/or MITIGATE these SIF events. Most of us are already informally doing SIF. I like to start my clients out with their BIG THREE: Tank used to store ammonia to be used as both agricultural fertilizer and coolant
Ammonia is held for sale by a retailer in a large storage tank. The retailer sells ammonia as an agricultural fertilizer and a coolant for air conditioning systems. Section 311(e)(5) of EPCRA exempts from the definition of a hazardous chemical "(a)ny substance to the extent it is used in routine agricultural operations or is a fertilizer held for sale by a retailer to the ultimate customer." For purposes of EPCRA sections 311/312 reporting, how would this combined usage of the ammonia tank be affected by the agricultural use exemption under EPCRA section 311(e)(5)? |
Partner Organizations
I am proud to announce that The Chlorine Institute and SAFTENG have extended our"Partners in Safety" agreement for another year (2024) CI Members, send me an e-mail to request your FREE SAFTENG membership
Member Associations
|