Volume 3, Issue 7, October 2001, Christian R. Youngerman, Editor

Welcome to AcuSafe News -- The electronic newsletter devoted to serving industry, government, and interested members of the public by providing  process safety practices, incident news, lessons learned, and regulatory developments. 

AcuSafe News is an extension of the AcuSafe website (http://www.acusafe.com/), the leading Internet resource for 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. AcuSafe.com and AcuSafe News are presented to you by AcuTech Consulting Group, a division of Chemetica, Inc. (http://www.acutech-consulting.com)  

 

In This Issue


  EPA News:   Injunction Granted to Delay Startup of Los Angeles Area Refinery, Cites CAA


  OSHA News:  OSHA  Delays Ergonomics Ruling

  CSB News:  AZF Toulouse Explosion Investigation Continues 


   Industry Focus:   
          1.  PSM Interpretations - The Meer Decision regarding Interconnected Processes
          2.  Recent Alaskan Incidents Highlight Oil Production Hazards
  Resources:  
           1.   Comparing PSM and SIS S84.01
           2.   Security and Terrorism- Senate Moves to Secure Domestic Energy Sites
         
  Incident News:  
           1.   Monthly Summary of Incidents, September 14 - October 18, 2001
         
  Events Update:  
           1.    2001 Annual Symposium of the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center, October 30-31
           2.    2001 AIChE Annual Meeting, November 4-9, 2001

  Other AcuTech  Fall 2001 Training Offerings for Process Hazard Analysis and Process Safety Management   
  

Story Abstracts
EPA News 
Federal Judge Grants Injunction Against Los Angeles Area Oil Refinery, cites CAA Violations
A federal judge agreed with a motion filed by Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) that an injunction preventing operation of an oil refinery is appropriate pending trial in the case. CBE filed its federal Clean Air Act lawsuit against Cenco Refining Company and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).  Cenco, owned by Pat Robertson's Charitable Trust, is trying to start up a shut down oil refinery in southeastern Los Angeles. The suit alleges violations of State law by the City of Santa Fe Springs.

The lawsuit alleges that Cenco and the SCAQMD violated the federal Clean Air Act in not requiring state-of-the-art pollution controls and other environmental review, called New Source Review (NSR), prior to issuing permits for the refinery. The Court agreed that CBE has shown a likelihood of success in its case.  The Court's detailed order states "CBE has demonstrated that NSR [New Source Review] should have been applied to the facility and that permits have been issued allowing construction on and operation of the refinery. Under these circumstances, the Court finds that an injunction precluding defendants from performing the permitted construction on or operation of the refinery without applying NSR is warranted." The Court also found that the public interest favors enforcing the Clean Air Act.  (Source: cbecal.org) 
OSHA News

OSHA Delays Ergonomics Decision 
On September 21, the Department of Labor announced that it has postponed the announcement of a plan of action on ergonomics. The announcement, which was expected in September, will be made later this Fall.   In July, the Department conducted three public forums to solicit public comment on ergonomics. Witness testimony and written comments are under review. The delay has been attributed to the disasters of September 11.

To view the entire OSHA Press Release regarding the delayed ergonomics decision please go to http://www.osha.gov/media/oshnews/sep01/national-20010921.html

 
Chemical Safety Board News

AZF Toulouse Explosion Investigation Continues 
Weeks after a chemical plant explosion in southern France that killed 29 people and injured 4,400, investigation teams continue to search for the cause of the explosion. Current theories focus on the theory that the explosion was an accident.  

Please go to AcuSafe for more details about the this story: http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/1001NewsToulouseExplosion.htm.

 
Industry Focus

PSM Interpretations - The Meer Decision Regarding  Interconnected Processes
AcuSafe presents its second in a series of feature articles entitled "PSM Interpretations."  In this edition of AcuSafe News, we outline an interpretation pertaining to the Meer Decision, a court case outlined the definition of interconnected processes for flammable materials. View AcuSafe's featured article at http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/1001NewsPart2Interpretations.htm.

Recent Alaskan Incidents Highlight Oil Production Hazards
Recent incidents in Alaska highlight the challenges of oil production. The year 2001 has proven to be a tough one for Alaskan petroleum operators.

Find details at http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0901NewsAlaskanDrilling.htm

 

Resources

Comparing PSM and S84.01- Safety Instrumented Systems 
Recently, OSHA recognized the ISA S84.01 standard as a good engineering practice for safety instrumented systems.  How does this standard relate to OSHA Process Safety Management?  Read this expert analysis of the similarities and differences between SIS and PSM.  

This AcuSafe Feature story can be found at http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/1001NewsPSMvsS8401.htm
 

Security and Terrorism: Senate Moves to Secure Domestic Energy Sites 
In light of the recent terror attacks, there is a groundswell of support for closing cracks in security for U.S. oil refineries, pipelines, and electric power plants.  The movement is trying to restrict access to detailed site information about such facilities, as well as on-site security measures.  

The full text of this story can be found courtesy PlanetArk at http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12760/newsDate/11-Oct-2001/story.htm

 

Incident News

Monthly Summary of Incidents, September 14, 2001 - October 17, 2001
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 September 14, 2001 and October 17, 2001. Most of the incidents covered have caused significant injury, deaths, or major property damage. Accidents in the  Ukraine, Russia, Canada, Nigeria, China, New Zealand, Taiwan and the U.S. are represented.  We welcome input to this effort by submitting summaries of other notable events to editor@acusafe.com.

 

Events Update

2001 Annual Symposium of the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center, October 30-31
Dr. Trevor Kletz will be the keynote speaker for this conference.   Many papers encompassing process safety will be presented at the Symposium, scheduled for October 30-31, 2001 at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.   For full program and registration information, visit http://process-safety.tamu.edu


AIChE Annual Meeting, November 4-9, 2001
AIChE's Annual Meeting, entitled "A Technological Gold Rush," will take place at the Reno Hilton in Reno, Nevada, from November 4-9, 2001.   The Executive Board of the AIChE National Program Committee has selected Prof. Matthew Tirrell, Richard A. Auhll Professor and Dean College of Engineering, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, as the 2001 Institute Lecturer. The lecture, "Building Molecules and materials with Information Content: Nanostructured Materials with Advanced Functionality," will be presented Wednesday, November 7, 11:45AM, at the Reno Hilton. For full program and registration information, visit http://www.aiche.org/annual/

 

Other
  
AcuTech Fall 2001 Training Offerings for Process Hazard Analysis and Process Safety Management
AcuTech Consulting is offering several process safety courses on the West Coast this Fall:
  • Mechanical Integrity Program Management
  • PHA for Team Leaders
  • Human Factors in Process Safety
  • Best Practices in Process Safety Management

Our course instructors are known for their excellence in process safety and hazard analysis, and have conducted a series of highly successful training seminars on Process Safety Management, Hazard Analysis, and Quantitative Risk Assessment in the U.S., Canada, and Asia. Course attendees principally include safety and operations personnel from chemical, petrochemical, energy, and manufacturing companies. Among the companies represented include ExxonMobil, Tosco, ARCO, BPAmoco, McDonnel-Douglas, Boeing, Kraft, Tyson, Unocal, Shell, Siemens, Bayer, Cargill, and Caltex.

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/Fall2001ATIBrochure.pdf.

 

 


 
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