Tag: #chemicalsafety

EPA proposal would ‘strengthen’ chemical risk evaluations

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
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Photo: jimfeng/iStockphoto

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency wants to expand the scope of chemical risk evaluation policies under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

EPA published a proposed rule on Oct. 30 that would allow the agency to codify various changes incorporated when it retooled the chemical risk evaluation process in 2021, including:

  • Using a “whole substance” approach – which requires risk evaluations to culminate in a single determination of whether the chemical presents unreasonable risk – when determining whether the public is protected from unreasonable risks from chemicals.
  • Expanding consideration of exposure pathways.

Additional amendments would:

  • Make clarifications to ensure EPA risk evaluations appropriately consider risks to workers.
  • Eliminate consideration of exposure reduction based on workers’ assumed use of personal protective equipment.

“Providing workers and communities with meaningful protections from toxic chemical exposures has to be grounded in sound science,” Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator of the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a press release. “This rule will strengthen our chemical risk evaluations, which will in turn lead to more protective rules for workers and communities.”

As required under the TSCA – which the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act amended – EPA must address risks by proposing within one year regulatory actions such as training, certification, restricted access and/or ban of commercial use, and then accept public comment on any proposals.

Comments are due Dec. 14.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

OSHA announces preparation meeting for UN Sub-Committee on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, Nov. 15

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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Transportation will hold a joint, online meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 15 in advance of the United Nations’ Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals.

The meeting will be held in two parts for the convenience of attendees. From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST, the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will open the meeting and invite comments in advance of the U.N.’s 63rd session on the transport of dangerous goods.

At 1 p.m. EST, OSHA will solicit public input in advance of the U.N.’s 45th session on the handling and use of hazardous chemicals.

Comments and other information gathered in these meetings will be considered in development of the positions of the U.S. government regarding proposals submitted by countries represented on the sub-committee.

Register to receive directions for online participation.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

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Original article published by OSHA

OSHA proposal to update hazcom standard under White House review

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
GHS Labels

Photo: ArtboyAnimation/iStockphoto

Washington — An update to OSHA’s standard on hazard communication is undergoing a final review, according to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website.

The final rule was sent to OIRA on Oct. 11. It’s unknown how long the office will take to complete the review – one of the final steps in the regulatory process.

OSHA is seeking to align the hazcom standard (1910.1200) to the seventh revision of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, also known as GHS. The current standard is linked to the third revision of GHS, an update that occurred in 2012.

A January 2021 slideshow details OSHA’s proposed changes, which include:

  • Additional clarification of existing regulatory requirements.
  • Incorporating new hazard classes and categories.
  • Improving and streamlining precautionary statements.
  • Increased alignment with other countries, helping facilitate international trade.

Some of the proposed changes cover Appendices A-D. Appendix A would have revised health hazard definitions, including updated chapters on skin corrosion/irritation and serious eye damage/eye irritation.

OSHA notes that, in Appendix B, the flammable gases category 1 “was extremely broad” and essentially covered all flammable gases. In some instances, that led to employers choosing chemicals with higher risks.

Pyrophoric and unstable gases would be placed under category 1A, under the final rule. Appendix B also is expected to include a new chapter on desensitized explosives and “better differentiation between aerosols and gases under pressure.”

In the final rule, Appendix C could contain updated guidance and precautionary statement clarifications on aerosols, desensitized explosives and flammable gases.

Changes to two sections in Appendix D, on Safety Data Sheets, are proposed. Section 9 (physical and chemical properties) would include particle size, and Section 11 would include interactive effects and the use of “SAR/QSAR/read across.”

The final rule may also potentially fix issues with release for shipment, small packages labeling and SDS preparation.

“OSHA expects the HCS update will increase worker protections and reduce the incidence of chemical-related occupational illnesses and injuries by further improving the information on the labels and Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals,” the agency stated when it issued the proposed rule in February 2021. “Proposed modifications will also address issues since implementation of the 2012 standard and improve alignment with other federal agencies and Canada.”

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Potentially harmful ‘forever’ chemicals may be present in many industries

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Washington — Exposure to cancer-causing per- and polyfluroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is common “across occupations,” according to a recent research review from NIOSH.

After consulting multiple Centers for Disease Control and Prevention databases, NIOSH researchers examined 92 papers related to occupational exposure to PFAS that were published between 1980 and 2021. Analysis shows a wide range of use of PFAS – also known as “forever chemicals” because they break down slowly over time.

Although workers in PFAS-based chemical manufacturing had the highest exposure levels, the risk was also apparent among textile mill workers, metal plating workers, office workers, fishers and barbers.

NIOSH notes that the majority of the papers analyzed measured blood tests for PFAS, with others monitoring exposure levels through air, dust and urine samples.

“This study highlights the importance of measuring exposure to PFAS, including new types, among workers in manufacturing and other work settings,” NIOSH says. “Identifying patterns of work-related exposure is critical to establishing guidelines to protect workers.”

The study was published online in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Chemical Safety Board calls for changes to OSHA’s PSM standard

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
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Photo: Chemical Safety Board

Washington — OSHA should amend its guidance on the control of reactive hazards element of its standard on process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals (1910.119), the Chemical Safety Board says.

CSB makes 15 recommendations, while outlining additional concerns, in a recently released final report on a deadly December 2020 chemical explosion at the Optima Belle facility in Belle, WV. One worker died after the explosion of a dryer that was removing water from the compound. The blast also led to serious property damage and a shelter-in-place order for the surrounding community.

According to the report, the dryer was over-pressurized in part because facility management “did not adequately understand the potential for, analyze the hazards of, or detect and mitigate the self-accelerating thermal decomposition reaction.” In addition, the company for which the facility was producing the chemical didn’t transmit sufficient PSM data to Optima Belle, and both organizations had “ineffective” PSM systems.

CSB renewed its call for OSHA to “broaden” the PSM standard “to cover reactive hazards resulting from process-specific conditions and combinations of chemicals,” as well as hazards from self-reactive chemicals.

The report details six safety lessons for the industry:

  • Don’t rely solely on chemical hazard information from Safety Data Sheets when using the chemical at elevated temperatures or pressures, or with other temperatures with which the chemical could react. Information can vary significantly between suppliers. Be prepared to perform additional hazard analyses or to seek additional publicly available information.
  • Ensure chemical hazard information identified from previous incidents, studies, and lab tests are maintained and organized in a manner that will allow workers to be aware of the information and its appropriate use.
  • Be aware of the multiple tools capable of identifying whether a chemical has thermal or reactive hazards that could trigger a process safety incident.
  • Make sure hazards involving new processes are controlled by evaluating process safety information on involved chemicals, examining the laboratory and pilot-scale process, and consult site safety and process engineering personnel to determine if the process can be safely conducted at the tolling facility at full production scale with existing equipment.
  • Create and maintain a robust safety management system to prevent reactive chemical incidents.
  • Know that outsourcing the production or processing of a hazardous material doesn’t outsource the responsibility for process safety.

McCraren Compliance offers a full range of safety and health training and consulting services. Plus we can help you incorporate well-being into your traditional systems in order to support the Total Worker Health of your workforce.

Call 888-758-4757, email info@mccrarencompliance.com or visit our website www.mccrarencompliance.com

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Investigation of chemical release leads to recommendations on written procedures

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health
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Photo: Chemical Safety Board

Washington — Facilities that produce or handle hazardous chemicals should prepare written procedures and establish policies for evaluating simultaneous operations to ensure “robust safe work practices,” the Chemical Safety Board says.

The recommendations are among 10 outlined in CSB’s final report on a deadly chemical release in November 2020 at the Wacker Polysilicon North American facility in Charleston, TN.

One worker died and two others suffered serious injuries when they attempted to escape a cloud of toxic hydrogen chloride gas. Unable to see their surroundings, the workers fell 70 feet while trying to climb down a tower near the platform on which they were working.

CSB says seven contractors from two firms were working on separate projects on the platform.

The agency found that Wacker’s lack of written procedures and lack of control of hazardous energy contributed to the event, as did the lack of a simultaneous operations program and the lack of regulatory and published industry guidance on SIMOPs.

The report highlights four safety lessons:

  • Written procedures are a “critical tool for ensuring safe operations and maintenance activities” and “consolidate information required to execute a given task into easy-to-understand step-by-step instructions, with specific reference to safety precautions and critical actions.”
  • The control of hazardous energy “should be considered whenever equipment containing hazardous energy is repaired, adjusted, serviced and maintained, not only in situations in which equipment is intentionally opened.” Before work begins on equipment containing hazardous energy, “a risk assessment should always be performed to evaluate the need for energy isolation or other protective measures.”
  • “Owners and operators should always consider how simultaneous operations, or SIMOPs, could impact a given operation, whether by influencing a hazard or affecting the risk of the operation.” SIMOPs “should be identified and controlled via a hazard assessment” before an operation or task begins. A well-established system “must be able to document the specific task to be executed, readily coordinate the issued permits and identify scenarios of potential interaction between permitted work groups.”
  • “Owners and operators should prioritize the implementation” of process hazard analysis recommendations and employee input “to control hazards that have been identified by those closest and most familiar with facilities and operations.”

Further, CSB recommends that OSHA:

  • Create a standard or modify existing standards to require employers to ensure the coordination of SIMOPs involving multiple work groups, including contractors.
  • Develop a safety product – not limited to confined space or construction – that provides guidance on the coordination of SIMOPs involving multiple work groups.

McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.

Safe use of liquid nitrogen

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

Liquid nitrogen is the colorless, odorless, clear liquefied form of nitrogen.

In the retail food and food service industries, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says, liquid nitrogen has been used as a freezing agent in food preparation and preservation in the rapid freezing of foods (such as ice cream), to process dry herbs and spices, and to rapidly chill beverages.

However, it can be extremely dangerous to work around. “Anyone who handles it should be aware of its unique properties and hazards,” the Compressed Gas Association says.

liquid nitrogen
Image credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture via

Here are some tips for working with liquid nitrogen from CGA:
Wear proper personal protective equipment. This includes a faceshield, insulated gloves, eye protection, and protective clothing that covers your skin and doesn’t have cuffs or folds that can potentially trap spilled cryogenic liquid.
Never consume. It can freeze human tissue on contact because it’s -321° F. Swallowing it can result in serious injury or death.
Use only containers and equipment specifically developed for cryogenic liquids. “Materials that are not designed for cryogenic service, such as glass or plastic, can shatter when exposed to liquid nitrogen.” And make sure you’re pouring it slowly to minimize thermal shock and splashing.
Don’t trap in a container, tubing or piping. “As the liquid warms up and converts to gas, the pressure rises.” Containers not designed to adequately vent it can rupture.
Handle liquid nitrogen in well-ventilated areas. Because of its ability to turn into a gas, liquid nitrogen can “quickly displace the air in the room and create a risk of oxygen deficiency and asphyxiation.” CGA recommends air monitoring.

McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.

Original article published by Safety+Health

NIOSH video tells truckers about safe transfer of process fluids

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health
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Photo: NIOSH

Washington — A new video emphasizes safe work practices for truck drivers transferring process fluids such as oil and gas from wells to other locations.

Developed by NIOSH, the video notes that from 2016 to 2020, at least 12 workers died while transferring fluids at well sites. The deaths resulted from cardiac events, combustion-related explosions, struck-by vehicle incidents, exposure to hydrogen sulfide and heatstroke.

During fluid transfers, flammable atmospheres present a hazard to workers, the agency warns. In addition, when fluid tanks are under pressure, hydrocarbon gases and vapors can escape, creating potentially toxic and oxygen-deficient surroundings that may cause damage to a worker’s eyes, lungs, central nervous system and heart.

In the 11-minute video, NIOSH encourages employers to select and implement effective controls from the Hierarchy of Controls. Engineering controls include safely venting or containing process fluid vapors by using a vapor recovery unit, as well as using conducting hoses and closed connections for fluid transfers. Administrative controls include worker training and workplace policies. Employers also should train workers on the proper use of personal, multiuse gas monitors and how to confirm the devices are functioning properly and placed within the worker’s breathing zone.

“Oil and process fluids can be transferred and transported safely and with minimal risks,” the video says. “But to do so, employers and workers must understand the hazards, know the risks, and be able to apply the appropriate controls under the appropriate circumstances to control the hazards and mitigate the risks involved. Doing so each time will save lives.”

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

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CSB Issues New Safety Alert Focused on the Potential Hazards of Emergency Discharges from Pressure Release Valves

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Original article published by CSB
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Photo property of CSB

Washington, D.C. March 6, 2023 – Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) issued a new Safety Alert titled “Hazards Posed by Discharges from Emergency Pressure-Relief Systems.” The CSB’s alert highlights hazards identified with emergency pressure-relief systems from four CSB investigations.  The alert advises facilities that while a discharge from emergency pressure-relief systems can help protect equipment from unexpected and undesired high-pressure events, it can also seriously harm or fatally injure workers and cause extensive damage to a facility if the discharge is not made to a safe location.

CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said, “All four of the incidents highlighted in the CSB’s safety alert underscore the importance of thoroughly evaluating emergency pressure-relief systems to ensure they discharge to a safe location where they will not harm people.”

The four incidents highlighted in the CSB’s safety alert resulted in 19 deaths and 207 injuries. They include:

  • On May 19, 2018, an ethylene release ignited, injuring 23 workers at the Kuraray America, Inc. ethylene and vinyl alcohol copolymer plant in Pasadena, Texas. The CSB’s animation of this event shows how this incident occurred during the startup of a chemical reactor system following a turnaround. High-pressure conditions developed inside the reactor and activated the reactor’s emergency pressure relief system, discharging flammable ethylene vapor horizontally into the ambient air in an area where a number of contractors were working.
  • On November 15, 2014, approximately 24,000 pounds of highly toxic methyl mercaptan were released from an insecticide production unit at the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) chemical manufacturing facility in La Porte, Texas. The release fatally injured three operators and a shift supervisor inside a manufacturing building. During the early phases of the investigation, CSB investigators identified a number of worker safety issues—separate from the release scenario— including that several emergency pressure-relief systems at the facility were designed to discharge hazardous materials in a way that posed a risk to workers and the public.
  • On May 4, 2009, highly flammable vapor released from a waste recycling process, ignited, and violently exploded at Veolia ES Technical Solutions, LLC, in West Carrollton, Ohio. The incident injured four employees, two seriously.  Following the initial explosion, multiple other explosions occurred that t significantly damaged every structure on the site. Residences and businesses in the surrounding community also sustained considerable damage. The CSB concluded that uncontrolled venting from emergency pressure-relief valves to the atmosphere allowed tetrahydrofuran (THF) vapors to accumulate to explosive concentrations outside process equipment, and the vapors subsequently found an ignition source.
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Chemical Safety Board to chemical facilities: Remember cold-weather best practices

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health

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Photo: CSB

Washington — Alarmed by a recent surge of events involving the incidental release of chemicals during cold weather, the Chemical Safety Board is reminding facility operators of process safety management best practices for wintertime operations.

Freezing and expansion of water can crack or break pipes, damage equipment, or lead to instrumentation failure. Additionally, cold temperatures can trigger the formation of a hydrate, a chemical combination of water and a compound that may expand or block process piping.

CSB recommendations for winterization include:

  • Effectively identify and address the risk of freeze-related hazards to piping and process equipment through process hazard analyses, management of change evaluations, pre-startup safety reviews and operating procedures.
  • Create and implement a winterization checklist to ensure plant and process systems are ready for cold weather.
  • Establish a formal, written freeze protection program.
  • Survey piping systems for dead-legs (sections that have no flow) and ensure they’re properly isolated, removed or winterized.
  • Systematically review process units, including infrequently used piping and equipment, to identify and mitigate freezing hazards.

CSB data shows that 36 incidents related to the agency’s accidental release reporting rule were recorded during the first three months of fiscal year 2023, including eight during a Christmas holiday weekend that saw record-low temperatures across much of the nation.

The agency notes that 30 combined reportable events – incidental chemical releases resulting in a fatality, a serious injury and/or significant property damage – were observed during the first quarter of FY 2021 and FY 2022.

“Companies need to heighten their focus on safe operations and recognize that taking important precautionary actions, like winterization, can help prevent major chemical accidents,” CSB Chair Steve Owens said in a press release.

McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.