This month marks the 20^th anniversary of OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard, which is built upon Recognized and Generally Accepted Engineering Practices (RAGAGEP).  There was no way OSHA could write a “specific” standard to cover all the types of processes handling the list of Highly Hazardous Chemicals (HHC) so they instead wrote what is called a “performance oriented standard” that is VERY OPEN and flexible so that an employer can best decided how to run their process safely.  The intention was that the employer would adopt published RAGAGEPs to design, build, operate and maintain their highly hazardous process. 

A friend has shared some info regarding a new fixed foam system for tank fire!  The video is amazing to watch, especially if you have spent anytime on a hose line at a large diamater tank fire!  This company is apparently very new and is focusing their efforts in Europe for now, but man is this ever needed here in the USA.  I have no idea as to cost, but you can learn more about them and watch the video at http://english.foamfatale.gr/live_test.

March, 28 2012

Children and adults alike have been injured using flammable liquids such as gasoline. Most incidents involve a flammable liquid used on an outside fire such as burning trash, a bonfire, or a brush fire. Each year thousands of emergency department-treated injuries are related to flammable liquids. Of the people injured, 87% were male. Vapors from some of these liquids are highly flammable. Since you can’t see vapors, use extra caution around the  gasoline and other flammable liquids.  Click Here (external link) for this Safety Reminder from CPSC.gov

Many THANKS to John Newquist, Assistant Regional Administrator at DOL-OSHA, for providing this presentation.  Click Here to download (pdf), Click Here to download (ppt)

UPDATE on 5/10/12... Explosion damages New Smyrna Beach ice plant (fire officials blame ammonia leak in off-hours blast - a steel door landed about a 100 feet from the opening following a very early morning explosion at the ice plant - while the cause is still being investigated, New Smyrna Beach Fire Marshal said a preliminary review seems to point to a slow ammonia leak filling part of the building before finding an ignition source - "We are not sure how it happened," he said, although it is suspected the explosion may have been sparked by one of the numerous electric motors operating in the building almost around the clock - officials estimated the blast caused $300,000 damage to the building, including a 30-by-30-foot hole in the roof as well as forcing out roll-up and standard doors - the building's south wall also was blown out)

Safety professionals in the USA are gearing up for one of the most significant changes in safety standards in the past 20 years; but those of us who also deal with Process Safety are in for potentially a DOUBLE WHAMMY...

An incident in Casting where a maintainer using an impact gun picked up the gun by the socket and in the process activated the gun with his other hand. Although a personal pre-start was done the maintainer did not pick up that some one had placed a piece of welding wire through the socket to keep it on the gun instead of the retaining clip.

Target audience for this alert:

• Project Managers
• Project Engineers
• Turnaround Managers
• Authorised Persons – Lifting and Hoisting

Many thanks to Bob Cornett @ MSHA for sharing this ppt. and to BHP Billiton – NMC Operations for putting it together!

Click Here to download the ppt

Click Here to download the pdf (faster)

The presence of passengers in a vehicle has been shown to increase the risk of fatal crash involvement for teenage drivers; however, the studies that have quantified this relationship were based on data that are now over a decade old. In the years since these studies, most U.S. states have enacted graduated driver licensing systems that limit the number of passengers that young drivers are allowed to carry during their first several months of independent driving, and the number of 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes each year has decreased by more than half. The objective of this study was to provide updated estimates of the relationship between the number and ages of passengers present and the crash risk per mile driven of 16- and 17-year-old drivers.

 Many thanks to Bob Cornett @ MSHA for sharing this ppt.  Click Here to download the ppt.