Category Archives: General Information

General Information

Two recent NH3 Refrigeration Fines

US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Rochester, NY, milk products manufacturer, proposes more than $200,000 in fines, for repeat and serious hazards. . $153k of the citations are Repeat citations. . Failing to address the hazards of oil draining in the PHA. … Continue reading

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Shocking EPA video

Given some of the stories I’ve heard recently from the Ammonia Refrigeration industry, I can’t help but wonder if the strategy exposed in this video is also being used on us. Top EPA official, Region VI Administrator Al Armendariz, using … Continue reading

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Relationships matter!

Bear with me for a few minutes, because this is going to start out talking about one thing but end up talking about something entirely different. . Beef Products International (BPI) has been in the news lately because their product … Continue reading

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A debate on Management of Change

Recently a group of safety yahoos got together to discuss a situation: You have a freezer with racking. The racking needs to be removed for XXXX reason. You hire a contractor to do the job. You evaluate and train the … Continue reading

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No NH3 Detection – General Duty Citation in store?

Most General Duty citations have nothing to do with Ammonia refrigeration but I’ve started to see a trend recently where processes that are not covered by PSM are being subject to Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices (RAGAGEP). The … Continue reading

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Website Availability of Non-OCA RMP Data

Email from the EPA: . As you know, EPA regulates certain hazardous chemical facilities under 40 CFR Part 68 – known as the EPA Chemical Accident Prevention or Risk Management Plan (RMP) program.  EPA is aware that state and local … Continue reading

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Trevor Kletz on “macho culture” in the PSM regulated world

If you are unfamiliar with Trevor Kletz, to the PSM world he’s the equivalent of what Elvis was to Rock ‘n’ Roll… “Many workers don’t see the need to follow all the rules or the permit-to-work procedures… Our job, they … Continue reading

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On my way to the RETA conference in Greensboro, North Carolina

Hopefully I’ll run into some of you there!

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A Note on Blog Subscriptions

Quite a few people have signed up for emails when new posts are made via the BlogSubscriptions link. You may wish to make sure you place bchapin@taocompliance on your safe sender list or the email has a good chance of … Continue reading

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The Regulatory Challenge

I came across two recent articles that touch upon the ever-increasing size of the challenge businesses face when it comes to regulation. It’s interesting to see the size of the regulatory apparatus compared to private enterprise: “If the federal government’s … Continue reading

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