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

  Security News:  New CCPS Security Book Available

  OSHA News:  Supreme Court Upholds EEOC Regulation Allowing Employers to Hire Disabled Workers Based on Risk of Harm

  CSB News:  USDOJ, EPA, and Delaware File Suit against Refiner Motiva

   Industry Focus:   
          1.  PSM Interpretations - HAZWOPER Applicability and Interpretations

    Resources:  
           1.   CCPS Monthly Safety Beacon Focuses on Safety 

           2.   US HHS Releases New Guidelines Protecting Ventilation Systems

  Incident News:  
           1.   Monthly Summary of Incidents, June 21 - July 20, 2002

  Events Update:  
           1.   18th Annual National VPPPA Conference, September 9-12, 2002 The Orlando World Center Marriott, Orlando, FL

           2.    CCPS International Conference and Workshop on Risk, Reliability, and Security, October 8-11, 2002 Jacksonville, FL- Special Offer! See below.

   Other ATI Offers Courses in Crisis Management & Plant Security  

New CCPS Security Book Available
CCPS announces that their most recent publication, Guidelines for Managing and Analyzing the Vulnerability of Fixed Chemical Sites, will be available from their website on August 1. The CCPS formed a Chemical Security Subcommittee in November 2001, comprised of over 35 security and process safety experts from industry and government. The mission of the subcommittee is to apply CCPS' considerable portfolio of risk evaluation and risk reduction tools to the practice of security, while improving existing process safety tools by more fully incorporating security considerations. The first effort of the CCPS in the area of chemical facility security was this guideline on how to perform security vulnerability analyses. The primary objective of this book is to provide a useful tool that can be used by any industrial company that handles hazardous chemicals at a fixed facility to assess their risk from terrorist events. Secondly, the book provides some tools and guidance on approaches to manage the risks. The book also includes a chapter describing how security can be integrated into existing EHS business processes. 

The book will be available from the CCPS website (http://www.aiche.org/ccps), or a near final version may be available by contacting Scott Berger at CCPS at scotb@aiche.org.

Supreme Court Upholds EEOC Regulation Allowing Employers to Screen Out Disabled Workers Based on Risk of Harm 
In Chevron v. Echazabal, 70 U.S.L.W. 4516 (June 10, 2002), the Supreme Court upheld employers’ rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) to refuse to hire a disabled person if his or her performance on the job would endanger the person’s health.  The ADA prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with a disability, because of the disability. Discrimination includes using standards that “screen out or tend to screen out” disabled persons. However, employers may assert an affirmative defense for action taken pursuant to such a standard, if the standard is “job related” and “consistent with business necessity.” Permissible standards include “a requirement that an individual shall not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the workplace”.

 For full text of this press release, go to http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/Chevron_ADA_Decision.pdf

USDOJ, EPA, and Delaware File Suit against Refiner Motiva
The Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Delaware announced that the United States and Delaware have filed civil suits against Motiva Enterprises, LLC in connection with the July 2001 tank explosion at Motiva's oil refinery in Delaware City, Del. The federal action is being filed for violation of the Clean Water Act and other laws enacted by Congress to protect public health and the environment. The complaints allege that the explosion, which released more than one million gallons of sulfuric acid and hydrocarbons, was caused by gross negligence in the operation and maintenance of the tank.  

For the full Department of Justice Press Release, go to http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2002/July/02_enrd_402.htm

PSM Interpretations - HAZWOPER Applicability and Interpretations
AcuSafe presents the tenth installment in a series of feature articles entitled "PSM Interpretations."  In this edition of AcuSafe News, we present a series of interpretations regarding applicability and interpretations surrounding 29 CFR 1910.120(p) or (q), the HAZWOPER standard.   The goal of the series is to bring to light interpretations made by OSHA which may impact a PSM facility- often the interpretations shed more light on grey areas not explicitly explained by the regulation.

Find this AcuSafe feature at  http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0702NewsPart10Interpretations.htm.

CCPS Monthly Safety Beacon Focuses on Safety
The monthly one-page "Process Safety Beacon" cover the breadth of process safety issues. Each issue will present a real-life accident, and describe the lessons learned and practical means to prevent the accident during plant operations.  These are monthly process safety educational pieces for plant staff, useful for safety meetings / toolbox talks. 

This month's Safety Beacon, targeting safety around pump seals, can be found on the AcuSafe website at http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0702beacon.pdf.  CCPS Safety Beacon can be found on the CCPS website at http://www.aiche.org/ccps/safetybeacon.htm

US HHS Releases New Guidelines Protecting Ventilation Systems
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today released new guidelines for protecting ventilation systems in commercial and government buildings from chemical, biological and radiological attacks. The guidelines provide recommendations that address the physical security of ventilation systems, airflow and filtration, systems maintenance, program administration and maintenance staff training. 

For full text of this HHS press release, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhs-ventrel.html

Monthly Summary of Incidents, June  21, 2002 - July  20, 2002
We collect stories about major spills and releases from around the globe. This month's installment (http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0702News-MonthlyIncidents.htm) summarizes a total of 25 incidents brought to our attention between June 21, 2002 and July 20, 2002. Most of the incidents covered have caused significant injury, deaths, or major property damage. Accidents in China, U.K., Singapore, Japan, the Galapagos Islands, Nigeria, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan,  and the U.S. are represented.  We welcome input to this effort by submitting summaries of other notable events to editor@acusafe.com.

For more information go to: http://www.vpppa.org/Conference/index.cfm

CCPS International Conference and Workshop on Risk, Reliability, and Security, October 8-11, 2002 Jacksonville, FL.
Save $100 by Registering Early for the CCPS International Conference and Workshop on Risk, Reliability, and Security, October 8-11, 2002, Jacksonville, FL. This year's conference will highlight the latest developments in the technical and management aspects of Risk, Reliability, and Security and explore synergies between these fields. The conference will also feature keynote and luncheon addresses by internationally prominent speakers, opportunities to network with leading practitioners, and informative exhibits.

For more information go to http://www.aiche.org/ccps/icw  or call 212-591-7319. 

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 vulnerability analysis, 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.