Fireproof? Why Concrete Structures Fail In a Fire

“They swore by concrete. They built for eternity.”  — Günter Grass A tank truck hauling gasoline caught fire under an I-95 overpass outside of Philadelphia on Sunday, June 11, 2023. Not long after, the overpass collapsed. Concrete is not combustible, and most of us don’t think of structural steel as combustible, either. So, how could [...]

By |2023-08-14T17:31:37-05:00June 15th, 2023|Current Events|Comments Off on Fireproof? Why Concrete Structures Fail In a Fire

A Second Wind

“Time is the fire in which we burn.”- Delmore Schwartz A resin and rosin manufacturer in Brunswick, Georgia reignited in the afternoon on April 15th after catching fire that morning. Sources cite changing winds as a possible reason for reignition, a natural occurrence out of human control. Tornados, hurricanes, and earthquakes are consistently on the [...]

By |2023-08-11T16:20:22-05:00April 20th, 2023|Current Events, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on A Second Wind

Deadly Explosion…At a Chocolate Factory?

“The fact is the media never gets off the interstate unless there’s a major explosion.”  — Jim Harrison On Friday, March 24, 2023, shortly before 5 pm local time, an explosion leveled the R.M. Palmer Company chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, killing seven workers. How does a chocolate factory explode? What are the explosive hazards, [...]

By |2023-08-14T15:45:53-05:00March 30th, 2023|Current Events, Gas, Process Safety|Comments Off on Deadly Explosion…At a Chocolate Factory?

Close to the Edge: Banking, Railroads, and…the Chemical Industry?

“Banking should be boring.”  — Senator Elizabeth Warren We tend to celebrate those adventurers who take big risks for the chance at big rewards, at least when it pays off. On the other hand, we tend to condemn those that take big risks but don’t suffer the consequences when their risk-taking doesn’t pay off. Especially [...]

By |2023-08-11T17:48:08-05:00March 23rd, 2023|Chemicals, Current Events, Process Safety|Comments Off on Close to the Edge: Banking, Railroads, and…the Chemical Industry?

Derailments: How a Process Safety Perspective Can Prevent Them

“Luck is not an acceptable substitute for early detection.”  — Valerie Harper Three weeks after the Norfolk Southern (NS) derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the well-meaning editorial board at the Washington Post published an editorial on “how to fix freight rail.” They consulted with a variety of transportation experts to come up with four recommendations: [...]

By |2023-03-02T18:12:24-06:00March 2nd, 2023|Chemicals, Current Events, Process Safety|Comments Off on Derailments: How a Process Safety Perspective Can Prevent Them

What Can We Do? The Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio

“People just don’t sue doctors they really like.”  — Alice Burkin, plaintiff’s attorney Nice doctors get sued less. On the other hand, “evil corporations” are far more likely to be sued for their mistakes, or as lawyers describe it, their “negligence.” And in the consciousness of many Americans, there are few corporations more categorically evil [...]

By |2023-02-16T18:25:02-06:00February 16th, 2023|Chemicals, Current Events, Process Safety|Comments Off on What Can We Do? The Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio

OSHA’s New Dust NEP: What is the Impact on DHAs?

“I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”  — T.S. Elliot OSHA does not have a combustible dust regulation. Instead, it relies on a hodge-podge of regulations combined with the General Duty Clause. If someone wants to understand what OSHA expects in terms of combustible dusts, they must turn to OSHA’s Combustible Dust [...]

By |2023-02-09T16:34:03-06:00February 9th, 2023|Combustible Dust, Current Events|Comments Off on OSHA’s New Dust NEP: What is the Impact on DHAs?

Preventing Profit Over Safety: OSHA’s New Reliance on Penalties

“OSHA has issued new enforcement guidance to make its penalties more effective in stopping employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements.”  — Department of Labor press release, January 26, 2023 There are two common complaints about OSHA citations and fines after a fatal [...]

By |2023-02-02T15:41:50-06:00February 2nd, 2023|Current Events, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Preventing Profit Over Safety: OSHA’s New Reliance on Penalties

Using CSB Incident Reporting to Spot Trends: Will We Do It?

“You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.”  — Daniel Keys Moran Last summer, we talked about the Chemical Safety Board’s compilation of incident data since their reporting rule became effective in March 2020. Companies experiencing catastrophic releases that result in one or more fatalities, one or more in-patient hospitalizations, [...]

By |2023-01-12T16:12:05-06:00January 12th, 2023|Chemicals, Current Events, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Using CSB Incident Reporting to Spot Trends: Will We Do It?

Process Safety: Tornadoes in December

“The potential changes to particular provisions of the current PSM standard that OSHA is considering include:  8. Clarifying paragraph (e) to require consideration of natural disasters and extreme temperatures in their PSM programs, in Response to E.O. 13990.”  — OSHA, 20-Sep-2022 call for Stakeholder comments I grew up in the Midwest. I’ve lived in Joplin, [...]

By |2022-12-16T00:06:38-06:00December 16th, 2022|Current Events, Procedures, Training, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Process Safety: Tornadoes in December
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