In This Edition: (Click on Bullet to Jump to Story)

  EPA News:  White House Unveils Kyoto Alternative- the Clear Skies and Global Climate Change Initiatives

  OSHA News:  PSM Interpretations - Process Hazard Analysis

  CEPPO News:  Security, RMP Self-Auditing Discussed at CEPPO Accident Prevention Subcommittee Meeting

   Industry Focus:   
          1.  Managing Risk Without Precedent: Terror Attacks at Domestic Chemical Facilities

  Resources:  
           1.   AcuSafe Announces New Partnership With CCPS (correction)
           2.   Call for Papers: 2003 "Hazards XVII: Process Safety - Fulfilling our responsibilities"  from IChemE
           3.   AcuTech Conducts Process Safety Management and Auditing Training for Kuwait Petroleum Corporation

  Security Update:  
           1.   Security Feature Part 2: Are You Prepared to be Prepared?

  Incident News:  
           1.   Monthly Summary of Incidents, January 21, 2002 - February 20, 2002

  Events Update:  
           1.    NFPA 36th Loss Prevention Symposium, March 10-13, 2002
           2.    AIChE 2002 Spring National Meeting, March 10-14, 2002
           3.    International Institute for Ammonia Refrigeration Annual Conference, March 17-20, 2002
           4.    MKOPSC Process Safety Management/Risk Management Program Critical Issues and Updates, April 16, 2002

   Other ATI Offers Course in Crisis Management & Plant Security  

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White House Unveils Kyoto Alternative- the Clear Skies and Global Climate Change Initiatives
President Bush unveiled a series of tax credits and other incentives to encourage business and farmers to reduce harmful emissions, a less stringent alternative to the international Kyoto treaty he rejected last year. He said his plan would prevent the release of about 500 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of 70 million cars from the road. Under his plan, Bush set a goal of the United States cutting the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent over 10 years. Greenhouse gas intensity is the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions and economic output. This means that emissions will still continue to grow, but at a lower rate. Under a separate plan called the "Clear Skies Initiative," Bush said emissions from sulfur dioxide would be cut by 73 percent, nitrogen oxides by 67 percent and mercury by 69 percent, all by 2018. The President faced tremendous criticism from environmental groups and U.S. allies, including Japan, for rejecting the Kyoto treaty. 

For more details and a fact sheet about President Bush's Clear Skies Initiative and Global Climate Change Initiative, go to the White House Website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/02/20020214.html.

PSM Interpretations - Process Hazard Analysis
AcuSafe presents the fifth  installment in a series of feature articles entitled "PSM Interpretations."  In this edition of AcuSafe News, we present a summary of interpretations about applying to all parts of Process Hazard Analysis- scope, team, and content.  View this featured article at http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0202NewsPart5Interpretations.htm.

Security, RMP Self-Auditing Discussed at CEPPO Accident Prevention Subcommittee Meeting
CEPPO has made available the minutes from the Accident Prevention Subcommittee meeting on January 24, 2002.  At the meeting, several topics were discussed, including ongoing dialogue about EPA's proposed plan for adding third-party audits to Risk Management Plan legislation.   Security related topics included developing and disseminating alerts and advisories, supporting a U.S. Department of Justice study on chemical plant vulnerability conducted by Sandia National Labs that will be provided to Congress, participating on the Center for Chemical Process Safety Subcommittee on Security, and evaluating of proposed legislation, including the Corzine bill, the Tauzin Bioterrorism bill, and the Daschle Energy bill.

Complete meeting minutes can be found on the EPA CEPPO website at: http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/pubs/workgrp/sub-comm/sub1-02.htm

Managing Risk Without Precedent: Terror Attacks at Domestic Chemical Facilities?
Since September 11, industries and federal regulatory agencies have scrambled to address a risk that has no precedent in this country - the deliberate, criminal release of large quantities of chemicals from manufacturing facilities, with the intent to kill civilian targets or visit massive damage on the environment.  In this feature story, Kamer Consulting Group's Larry Kamer explores the implications of security and terrorism in the process industries. 

Go to AcuSafe to view this feature story: http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0202NewsKamer1.htm.

AcuSafe Announces New Partnership With the Center for Chemical Process Safety (correction) 
AcuSafe is proud to announce a new partnership with the Center for Chemical Process Safety, an Industrial Alliance of the American Institute for Chemical Engineers. This partnership will allow CCPS more direct opportunities to interact with AcuSafe's dedicated risk management and process safety professionals. Stay tuned for more information from CCPS in future editions and on the AcuSafe website! News will include new CCPS and AIChE publications, safety alerts, and conference announcements.  

Go to AcuSafe to check for further updates: http://www.acusafe.com or go to the CCPS website at http://www.aiche.org/ccps. 

Call for Papers: 2003 IChemE Hazards XVII: Process Safety - Fulfilling our responsibilities  
Hazards XVII is the latest in the series of symposia run by the Institution of Chemical Engineers NW Branch since 1960. These have provided a forum for the discussion of new research and technical developments into ways to control risks in the process industries thus helping to meet increasing expectations of risk control.  The three-day international symposium & exhibition (organized by IChemE North West Branch) on 25-27 March 2003 in Manchester, U.K., preceded by a 1-day Workshop: "Exothermic Reaction Hazards in Batch and Semi-batch Processing" on 24 March 2003. The session topics are described in the Call for Papers that can be accessed at http://www.icheme.org/events/hazardsxvii/call%20for%20papers.pdf. The submission deadline is May 24, 2002. 

For any queries about the symposium or Workshop, please contact Mike Adams on +44 (0) 1539 732845 (phone/fax) or Email: mike.j.adams@talk21.com

 AcuTech Conducts Process Safety Management and Auditing Training for Kuwait Petroleum Corporation  
AcuTech was selected to provide a 5-day PSM training class to the national oil company of Kuwait. The five day class was held February 16-20, 2002, at the Petroleum Training Center in Kuwait. Founded in 1980 as an umbrella organization to manage the state of Kuwait's rapidly diversifying oil interests, KPC has in less than two decades established itself as a truly international entity, respected by governments and business institutions worldwide as the ambassador of Kuwait's oil industry. The class was attended by representatives from KPC's affiliates including Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC). The class objectives were to provide attendees with up-to-date knowledge on the implementation and auditing of PSM programs. The course described best practices in PSM in the chemical/process industry and an update on topics such as human factors and plant security. The class also covered the fundamentals of PSM auditing.

AcuTech has conducted training for many of the world's leading petroleum, chemical and petrochemical companies including CalTex, Pemex, KPC, Shell and others, in international locations including China, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Brunei  and Mexico. For further information, please go to: http://www.acutech-consulting.com.

Security Feature Part 2: Are You Prepared to be Prepared?
In Part 1 of this AcuSafe Feature, we introduced the new chemical security dilemma and discussed some of the regulatory developments to address it. In Part 2, AcuTech's David Moore explores what industry can expect to do to manage this new risk and how the many possible risks are to be analyzed and reduced. Two major developments should be followed - the Sandia National Laboratories Vulnerability Assessment Methodology (VAM) and the AIChE CCPS activities to develop an option to the Sandia VAM and to develop a more comprehensive guideline in a future CCPS book.

Go to AcuSafe to view this feature story: http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0202NewsPart2Security.htm. 

Monthly Summary of Incidents, January 21, 2002 - February 20, 2002
We collect stories about major spills and releases from around the globe. This month's installment summarizes a total of 19 incidents brought to our attention between January 21, 2001 and February 20, 2002. Most of the incidents covered have caused significant injury, deaths, or major property damage. Accidents in China, Australia, Kuwait, Canada, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. are represented.  We welcome input to this effort by submitting summaries of other notable events to editor@acusafe.com.

AIChE 2002 Spring National Meeting, March 10-14, 2002, New Orleans, LA.
This year's AIChE National meeting is to be held at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.  New this year, AIChE is presenting a  three-day symposium to foster significant discussion with divergent viewpoints on critical issues such as the future of nuclear power, alternative energy, and global climate change.  For full program and registration information, visit http://www.aiche.org/conferences/spring/

International Institute for Ammonia Refrigeration Annual Conference, March 17-20, 2002, Kansas City, MO.
This Conference, focusing on the ammonia refrigeration industry, will be held in Kansas City in 2002.   For full program and registration information, visit http://www.iiar.org/ac2002/acindex.cfm

MKOPSC Process Safety Management/Risk Management Program- Current Issues and Updates, April 16, 2002, Pasadena, TX.
The conference, dubbed "An Outreach Seminar sponsored by OSHA, EPA, and Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center addressing current issues and updates on the process safety management program and the risk management program."  The seminar covers a range of risk management and process safety issues, and AcuTech's David Moore will chair a panel discussion on Process Hazard Analysis.  For more information about this seminar please call the MKOPSC at (979)845-3489.

The 2-day course provides a thorough overview of crisis and emergency planning related to large-scale releases of
chemicals from process facilities. Among the topics covered include: current federal laws and regulations related to crisis management planning, overview of the proposed Chemical Security Act, how to conduct a plant security hazard assessment, development of crisis management and emergency response plans, emergency training, public relations, media issues, risk communications during emergencies and plant security issues at process facilities. Participants will develop the knowledge to develop and implement such programs at their own facilities. Attendance would benefit environmental and safety professionals, plant managers, operations and maintenance managers/supervisors, emergency response personnel and RMP coordinators. Best practices, garnered from actual successful programs, will be highlighted.

For pricing information, course descriptions, a course schedule, and biographies of AcuTech course instructors, please read our full brochure at http://www.acutech-consulting.com/training/ATI_2002FullSchedule.PDF.