OSHA Combustible Dust Rulemaking
Thursday, January 28th, 2010Stakeholder Comments on OSHA Combustible Rulemaking from John Astad's blog.
Archive for the ‘OSHA PSM’ Category
Stakeholder Comments on OSHA Combustible Rulemaking from John Astad's blog.
OSHA NEP Fines
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009OSHA inspected 42 refineries between June 2007 - February 2009. Below is a summary of violations for 30 refineries. [Table=12] The average penalty for each violation is $ 5,650. The average penalty per refinery is $ 98,300. Contrast these numbers with $700 million that cost BP for fatality and personal injury claims related to ...
Regulating Reactive Chemicals
Friday, October 2nd, 2009Recently, members of Congress sent a letter to OSHA chief, Jordan Barab, to expand PSM standard to address reactive chemicals. Reactive chemicals have gained increasing attention since the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released its report on reactive chemicals in 2002. Now I have been working in the area of reactive chemicals ...
OSHA Chemical NEP
Monday, September 14th, 2009On July 27, 2009 OSHA launched its National Emphasis Program (NEP) targeted at chemical facilities. The NEP will operate as a one-year pilot program during which OSHA will conduct planned inspections of chemical facilities. Which Chemical Facilities Will Be Reviewed? The Chemical NEP will focus on facilities in the following regions: Regions ...
Top Five Challenges for Process Safety
Monday, August 24th, 2009Process Safety has evolved significantly since the introduction of PSM in 1992. Here are top five challenges facing the process safety community today. 1. Human Error One of the reasons “zero incident plants” is a myth is the potential for human error. We cannot take away human intervention and the possibility of ...
Is Your Emergency Response Plan Satisfactory?
Friday, August 21st, 2009A chemical facility is mandated to have an emergency response plan by OSHA PSM and EPA RMP. An accident in the plant, a hurricane, and a potential terrorist attack are a few scenarios that mandate emergency response and planning. However, there is a vast difference between having an emergency plan ...
RAGAGEP
Monday, August 10th, 2009RAGAGEP stands for Recognized And Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices. Specifically, OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 (D)(3)(ii) states:The employer shall document that equipment complies with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. EPA RMP also refers to RAGAGEP in 40 CFR 68.73:Inspection and testing procedures shall follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering ...
Maintaining Process Safety During Tough Economy
Sunday, May 31st, 2009We appear to be in a global recession – companies all over are struggling to deal with impact of economic slowdown. In an attempt to maintain profits, companies are drastically reducing their spending and also trimming down their workforce. It is anticipated that one-fourth of the employers in the US ...
Safety Forecast for the 21st Century
Sunday, May 24th, 2009The 20th century was a time of great technological change that forever transformed how we live and work – changes that necessitated the birth and development of the field of Process Safety Management. The early years saw the evolution of mechanization into assembly lines and true industrialization. Lack of access ...
OSHA NEP to Focus on the Chemical Industry in 2009
Sunday, April 19th, 2009In 2007, after investigating the explosion and fire at BP's Texas City facility, the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) recommended OSHA to launch a PSM National Emphasis Program (NEP). The objective of the NEP was to reduce the hazards associated with petroleum refineries. As a part of ...
