Volume 2, Issue 7, July 2000, David M. Garcia, Editor

Welcome to AcuSafe News -- The electronic newsletter devoted to serving industry, government, and interested members of the public by providing information that is useful, timely and best of all - FREE. AcuSafe News is comprised of best process safety practices, incident news, lessons learned, and regulatory developments.

AcuSafe News is an extension of the AcuSafe website (http://www.acusafe.com/), the Internet resource for process safety and risk management information, products, training, and professional exchange. We hope you visit the website and find AcuSafe News and the AcuSafe site to be valuable tools.
 

In This Issue

  RMP Update: Survey Results: Voluntary Disclosure of RMP Offsite Consequence Analysis Data
  OSHA Insider: Online Poll: PSM Practice
  Chemical Safety Board Update: Accident Investigation Results of Rohm & Haas Paterson, NJ Plant
  Hot Topics: OSHA Endorsement of ANSI/ISA S84.01 RE: Application of Safety Instrumented Systems for the Process Industries
  Industry Focus: The Votes are in on the Human Factors Survey
  Technical Topics: What Belongs on an Ammonia Refrigeration P&ID?
  Resources: US DOT "Flashpoints" Training Newsletter and AcuSafe Updates
  Incident News: Incident News Summaries from 6/20-7/20
  Events Update: 2000 API Safety and Fire Protection Conference and Environmental Risk Assessment Training Course Sydney, Australia
  AcuTech News: Consulting Positions with AcuTech Available Now

 

Story Abstracts
RMP Update
Survey Results: Voluntary Disclosure of RMP Offsite Consequence Analysis Data
Last month we asked our readers whether voluntary disclosure of offsite consequence analysis (OCA) data is a good idea. The results are in and it should come as no surprise that opinions are sharply divided. Click here for comments from our readers.
  
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OSHA Insider
Online Poll: PSM Practice
Compliance deadlines for OSHA's PSM and EPA's RMP Programs have long since passed. We all know that PSM is a performance-based standard with room for continuous improvement, but are the programs working well and is there room for improvement? What PSM elements need the most work? Please take a few moments to complete our July online survey. All submissions are anonymous and will be reported in an upcoming newsletter.
 
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Chemical Safety Board Update
Accident Investigation Results of Rohm & Haas Paterson, NJ Plant
The Chemical Safety Board presented its findings about the runaway chemical reaction in April 1998 at the Morton Specialty Chemical's (now Rohm and Haas) Paterson, NJ facility. Click here to read more about their findings.
 
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Hot Topics
OSHA Endorsement of ANSI/ISA S84.01 RE: Application of Safety Instrumented Systems for the Process Industries
OSHA avoided requiring many of the specific national consensus standards or industry practices standards when it drafted the PSM standard. However, it allowed for great latitude and uncertainty in knowing what would represent "recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices." In a March 23, 2000 compliance letter, OSHA endorses ANSI/ISA-S84.01, Application of Safety Instrumented Systems for the Process Industries, as one way to comply with PSM for safety instrumented systems. Click here to read more about OSHA's response.
 
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Industry Focus
The Votes Are In on the Human Factors Survey
For the May 2000 newsletter, we asked our readers a number of questions about the management and implementation of human factors at their facility. We received dozens of responses and are presenting our results. Click here for the final tallies. 
 
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Technical Topics
What Belongs on an Ammonia Refrigeration P&ID?
AcuTech's Dan Kuespert, former Technical Director for the International Institute for Ammonia Refrigeration, offers his views about preparing good piping and instrumentation drawings (P&IDs) to satisfy the Process Safety Information (PSI) element. For his discussion of do's and don'ts, click here.
 
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Resources
US DOT "Flashpoints" Training Newsletter
The US DOT Transportation Safety Institute, Hazardous Materials and Transportation Safety Division, has started a quarterly newsletter. Known as "Flashpoints," it contains the latest regulatory news, training offerings, and tips on US Department of Transportation hazardous materials requirements. For those wishing to be added to their mailing list, e-mail the request to Hazmat@tsi.jccbi.gov. 

AcuSafe Updates
AcuSafe is constantly updated with news, original content, new links, and more. One new item that may be of interest to our readers is on our lessons learned page (http://www.acusafe.com/Incidents/incident-lessons_learned.html). There are some great photographs of an aircraft that was overpressurized on the ground. The failure to perform a standard pressure check resulted in a rear hatch blowing out over 70 feet and a crumpled rear section. Take a look! If you have a process-related example and would like to share it, please drop me a line.

One last plug for our new shared experiences section of the AcuSafe Forum. This is an opportunity for people in industry to share his or her experiences about PSM, safety in the workplace, and other issues. Stories may be humorous or serious, but should not contain references to specific persons or companies. Postings are made anonymously. Postings are edited per our guidelines and posted to the AcuSafe web site; some submissions may also be selected for inclusion in future newsletters. This is an informal, non-threatening way to share lessons learned that we hope will be helpful to our readers.
 
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Incident News
Monthly Summary of Accidents Involving Process Chemicals or Flammable Materials 
As a new service for our readers, we are collecting and sharing incident news. This month's installment covers incidents brought to our attention between June 20 and July 20. All of them caused significant injury, deaths, or major property damage. This month's issue includes accidents in the U.S., Nigeria, Kuwait, Pakistan, Russia, and China.
 
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Events Update
Mary Kay O'Conner Process Safety Center, October 24-25, College Station, TX
The Texas A&M Mary Kay O'Conner Process Safety Center is holding its annual symposium on October 24-25 at Reed Arena on the Texas A&M campus. Topics for this two-day event include a number of exciting areas:
  • Application of Accident Investigations and Accident Databases for Improved Safety Performance
  • Abnormal Situation Management
  • Aerosol, Vapor Dispersion, and Explosion Modeling
  • Innovative Strategies for Safety Performance Improvements
  • Inherently Safer Design
  • Process Safety Issues in the Offshore Industry
  • Risk Assessment/Risk Management
  • Human Factors/ Human Factors Engineering
  • Risk Values and Economic Advantages of Safety
  • Reactive Chemicals
  • Case Histories/Lessons Learned
  • Process Safety Issues in the High-Tech Industry
  • Equipment Failure and Chemical Safety
  • Chemical Safety in Storage and Transportation

For more information about the symposium, contact the Center at donnas@tamu.edu, or visit their web site at http://process-safety.tamu.edu/. AcuTech's David Moore will present a paper "Outlook for Human Factors in the Process Industries." 

A free calendar detailing important conferences, events, meetings, and regulatory deadlines is available on AcuSafe. The calendar is updated regularly, so we suggest you bookmark it for future reference - http://www.acusafe.com/Calendar/index.html. Our readers are encouraged to contribute other events of interest to Process Safety professionals.
 
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AcuTech News
Consulting Positions with AcuTech Available Now
AcuTech Consulting, a leader in Process Safety and Risk Management services is  seeking experienced consultants for its offices in San Francisco, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Houston, TX; and Vancouver, BC.

Interested parties are invited to apply to recruiting@acutech-consulting.com. A job description is available on the AcuTech web site.
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