Joining them will be inspectors from the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), which said it dispatched its team to the AB site on May 5. Explosions at silicone manufacturing facilities are not frequent, but they have happened. In 2001, specialty silicone maker Gelest lost its Tullytown, Pennsylvania, plant in a devastating explosion and fire.
by Marc S. Reisch | May 11, 2019
The CSB’s April 24 statement urges the EPA to reexamine and update a 1993 study to determine the effectiveness of existing risk management program requirements as well as the viability of using inherently safer alkylation technologies in refineries. “In the last 4 years, the CSB has investigated two refinery incidents where an explosion elevated the threat of a release of HF,” CSB interim executive Kristen Kulinowski says.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | April 28, 2019
/safety/industrial-safety/One-dead-two-seriously-injured/97/i14 20190404 Environmental groups sue EPA to push for worst-case planning for spills Concentrates 97 14 /magazine/97/09714.html One dead, two seriously injured in fire at KMCO specialty chemical plant in Houston area Industrial safety, safety, specialty chemicals, business, policy, KMCO, isobutylene, Intercontinental Terminals, distribution, tank, Chemical Safety Board, CSB, Clean Water Act, spill con govpol Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN safety industrial-safety business specialty-chemicals An April 2 fire at a KMCO plant in Crosby, Texas, killed one worker and injured two others.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | April 04, 2019
Trump proposed zero funding for the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). Since he took office in 2017, Trump has proposed abolishing the board, which investigates chemical-related industrial accidents. CSB’s independent appropriations request asks Congress to boost its budget from $12 million in 2019 to $12.5 million next year to fill critical positions that are open.
by Andrea Widener, Cheryl Hogue | March 13, 2019
“Extending the life cycle of equipment at these facilities requires more robust inspection protocols,” CSB interim executive Kristen Kulinowski says. “Operators shouldn’t take the risk of waiting to find a leak because, as this case demonstrates, that leak could result in a catastrophic failure.” CSB is issuing recommendations to two trade associations, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and GPA Midstream Association, to share information related to failure hazards of BAHXs from thermal fatigue. CSB also urges companies to develop more robust community alert networks that include social media and the ability to expand interactions with a community throughout an incident, following complaints from people living near the Enterprise plant that they did not know how to respond to the event. /safety/industrial-safety/Chemical-Safety-Board-urges-robust/97/i7 20190214 Recommendation stems from fire at plant that produces chemical feedstock and fuel Concentrates 97 7 /magazine/97/09707.html Chemical Safety Board urges robust natural gas plant inspections Industrial safety, safety, business, petrochemicals, CSB, Chemical Safety Board, natural gas, fire, explosion con govpol Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN safety industrial-safety business petrochemicals A 2016 fire shut down the Enterprise Products Gas Plant in Mississippi for nearly six months.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | February 14, 2019
The requirement for public reporting of industrial accidents was part of the law that created the CSB in 1990. The CSB proposed a draft regulation several years ago but failed to finalize it. Several Texas-based nonprofit groups and the national Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility sued the CSB over the regulation in 2017, shortly after firefighters and community members were injured by fires and explosions related to flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey at an Arkema plant in Houston.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | February 08, 2019
The accident and CSB investigation led to an overhaul of California refinery regulations. Chevron will also conduct a pilot study of safety controls and make safety improvements at all its U.S. refineries. The company will pay a $3 million civil penalty and implement supplemental environmental projects worth more than $10 million for fire and emergency response equipment in communities near Chevron refineries in California, Mississippi, and Utah, as well as a refinery formerly owned by Chevron in Hawaii.
by Jeff Johnson | November 04, 2018