Process Safety with Trish & Traci

Adrian Pierorazio, a driving force behind Canada’s first national Process Safety Management standard CSA Z767, and Parnian Jadidian, also involved in its development, delve into groundbreaking safety protocols. They discuss the standard's industry-agnostic nature and its potential to reshape safety practices globally. Insights on its transformation from guidelines to an essential framework reveal its impact across various sectors. The conversation also emphasizes the importance of feedback in evolving these safety measures and fostering organizational accountability.

The plant floor at the West Pharmaceuticals facility in Kingston, N.C., was kept spotless to meet hygiene requirements. However, combustible polyethylene dust accumulated in the suspended ceiling. This led to a dust explosion on January 29, 2003, that killed six workers, injured 38, and destroyed the plant. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) couldn’t identify the ignition source. As I noted in a previous column, the CSB blames dust explosions for numerous fatalities at many plants. Let’s get into how to identify the risks of dust fires and explosions. Written By: Dirk Willard Read By: Traci Purdum  Read Article HERE 

Control system failures, alarm floods, maintenance issues and emergency response factored into this non-deadly incident.

In this guest podcast episode from our sister publication Processing, Senior Editor Nate Todd interviews Chris Cloney of Dust Safety Science. In this episode, we discover that awareness of dust hazards varies globally, often spiking after major incidents but waning over time. The company tracks dust-related incidents annually, noting significant events like the 2023 grain silo explosion in Brazil. Common hazards involve grain, wood and metal dusts, with equipment like dust collectors and silos frequently implicated. Emerging industries like 3D printing and robotics present new challenges. Dust Safety Science emphasizes ongoing education and risk assessment to prevent future incidents.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board identified five issues with the 2019 Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery fire and explosion: mechanical integrity, outdated equipment, lack of remote emergency isolation valves, safeguard reliability and the need for inherently safer design. https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/podcast/process-safety-with-trish-and-traci

Understanding the two kinds of change, deliberate and creeping, will aid you in keeping your facility a safe place to work. As we look back 50 years, we can see both deliberate and creeping change played significant roles in the catastrophic explosion and fire that tore through the Nypro plant in Flixborough, U.K., resulting in the tragic loss of 28 lives and leaving 89 others injured.

The Flixborough disaster in 1974 resulted in 28 fatalities and significant damage, leading to the introduction of management of change processes, improved asset integrity practices, emphasis on competency management, and enhanced control room safety measures. This landmark incident highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and continues to serve as a lesson in process safety.

Time is critical when tracking down hazardous substances. Whether it’s trying to mitigate safety incidents before they happen or being able to tap all the pertinent information during an emergency involving a chemical spill, fire or natural disaster, having an efficient way to trace every ingredient is paramount. This crossover episode first appeared in our Distilled podcast series. 

In this episode, Trish & Traci interview Stephen J. Wallace, a former investigator with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and author of the book "Hazardous Lies." Wallace offers insights into the world of process safety investigations and the motivation behind his fictional thriller. Wallace draws from his real-life experiences to craft a realistic portrayal of the challenges faced by investigators, including companies' attempts to hide the truth, ethical dilemmas and the courage required to uncover the root causes of accidents.

The incident at Formosa Plastics in 2004 highlighted critical lessons in process safety. Human factors, communication gaps and inadequate equipment played significant roles in the death of five workers.