When A Chemical Truck Rolls Over: Gawkers

“It’s what you do next that counts.”  — Lisa Mackay One of my favorite movies is The Great Waldo Pepper starring Robert Redford as a barnstorming pilot after World War I. One scene is seared into my memory. Waldo Pepper’s friend, Ezra Stiles, crashes during an air show. The crowd surges out to the wrecked [...]

By |2024-02-23T10:19:14-06:00February 23rd, 2024|Chemicals, Current Events|Comments Off on When A Chemical Truck Rolls Over: Gawkers

Deadly Jobs Revisited

“Automation is driving the decline of banal and repetitive tasks.”  — Amber Rudd Five years ago, I had the opportunity to give a TED talk called “Deadly Jobs”. I talked about the hazards that consistently contribute to work-related fatalities and the deadly occupations in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released [...]

By |2024-01-11T14:18:16-06:00January 11th, 2024|Current Events, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Deadly Jobs Revisited

The New BLS Fatality Report: Safety in a Post-Pandemic World

“The only thing we have learnt from experience is that we learn nothing from experience.”  — Chinua Achebe Back in December 2021, the BLS report showed that for 2020, the Year of the Pandemic, the total number of work-related fatalities in the U.S. was 4,764. That was significantly less than for the year before. The [...]

By |2024-01-04T12:01:38-06:00January 4th, 2024|Current Events, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on The New BLS Fatality Report: Safety in a Post-Pandemic World

Transportation Safety: Hauling Hazardous Chemicals

“This is the beginning, and the dawn of a new era of transportation.”  — Shervin Pishevar On Friday evening, September 29, 2023, at about 8:40 pm, the impatient driver of an SUV decided to pass a truck hauling anhydrous ammonia. Traffic on U.S. 40 was heavier than usual due to a detour of I-70 to [...]

By |2023-10-05T18:00:54-05:00October 5th, 2023|Chemicals, Current Events|Comments Off on Transportation Safety: Hauling Hazardous Chemicals

Earthquakes: How Will You Respond?

“Earthquakes don’t kill people. Buildings kill people.”  — Wendy Bohon, geologist How many times have you been in a hazard review discussing the potential for a particularly severe event when someone asserts, “Well, I’ve never seen anything like that happen.” As though their proclamation of “never” settles the question. I sometimes ask them how long [...]

By |2023-09-21T15:27:53-05:00September 21st, 2023|Current Events, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Earthquakes: How Will You Respond?

Are We in Danger? Reauthorizing CFATS

“Anything can go away. There’s no such thing as security. You can do things that give you the illusion of security, but there’s really no such thing.”  — Will Smith Authorization for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) expired on July 28, 2023. The House of Representatives passed the reauthorization bill by a vote of [...]

By |2023-09-07T20:11:44-05:00September 7th, 2023|Chemicals, Current Events, Process Safety|Comments Off on Are We in Danger? Reauthorizing CFATS

A Flurry of Activity: Recent CSB Final Reports

“Once you start something, finish it. Don’t accumulate a backlog of unfinished projects.”  — Ed Bliss If you are on the Chemical Safety Board’s distribution list, you may have noticed a lot of trade releases from the CSB in your in-box during the last few weeks. They’ve been busy. A recent press release proudly announced [...]

By |2023-08-11T12:40:08-05:00August 11th, 2023|Current Events, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on A Flurry of Activity: Recent CSB Final Reports

Recordable vs. Reportable: OSHA’s Changing Requirements

“OSHA has determined that…the Form 300A data are sufficient for enforcement targeting and compliance assistance at this time.”  — OSHA in 84 FR 392, 25-Jan-2019 Many have a hard time distinguishing between an injury that is OSHA “recordable” and an injury that is OSHA “reportable”. “Recordable” means that an employer must complete a Form 301 [...]

By |2023-08-11T18:22:31-05:00July 20th, 2023|Current Events, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Recordable vs. Reportable: OSHA’s Changing Requirements

Duct Tape and Baling Wire: Safely Using Temporary Fixes

“Sometimes using duct tape and baling wire is a terrible and/or dangerous choice.”  — Kay Rhodes On Sunday, June 11, 2023, a burning truckload of gasoline under an I-95 overpass in Philadelphia caused the bridge to collapse. At the time, officials estimated that it would take months to repair the bridge. Twelve days later, on [...]

By |2023-08-11T18:35:34-05:00July 13th, 2023|Current Events, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Duct Tape and Baling Wire: Safely Using Temporary Fixes

Opioid Crisis in the Process Industries: Narcan as First Aid

“Fentanyl is everywhere. From large metropolitan areas to rural America, no community is safe from this poison.”  — Anne Milgram I believe that we cannot reduce the number and rate of work-related fatalities if we do not understand what causes them. So, every December I study the annual statistics for work-related fatalities when the Bureau [...]

By |2023-08-14T16:14:40-05:00June 22nd, 2023|Current Events, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Opioid Crisis in the Process Industries: Narcan as First Aid
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