Tag Archives: Incidents

$205,000 fine for dumping 40 pounds of ammonia

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Brian Chapin

Kodiak fish processor North Pacific Seafoods pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to illegally dumping ammonia into the Kodiak city sewer, while the processor’s chief engineer faces charges of his own. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline imposed $205,000 in criminal … Continue reading →

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Lessons Shared #1 – “The Graveyards are full of Heroes”

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Brian Chapin

I had to fight back tears the first time I read this NIOSH report. Having lived on a family farm for a short period, it was very easy for me to imagine the reaction of the people involved… A 43-year-old … Continue reading →

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The “PSM Lessons Shared” project

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Brian Chapin

Recently, during a PSM class, I had a student with an all-too-common issue: How do I change the incident reporting culture at my facility? As a new PSM coordinator he was struggling because he couldn’t get his operators to report … Continue reading →

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CSB Releases Safety Video on 2009 Fatal Blast at NDK Crystal – Animation Depicts Stress Corrosion Cracking; Vessels Were Not Inspected or Tested

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Brian Chapin

Today the CSB issued a report on a 2009 vessel failure that it blamed on Stress Corrosion Cracking. There are some interesting lessons to be learned about incident investigation in this report since the mechanism that led to the vessel’s … Continue reading →

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How do I deal with recommendations to my program?

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Brian Chapin

You should frequently get recommendations for improving your PSM program through the PSM elements of Employee Participation, Process Hazard Analysis, Incident Investigations, Mechanical Integrity audits, Compliance Audits. Often, these recommendations are worthwhile improvements to your system that are worthy of … Continue reading →

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FUD in the news!

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Brian Chapin

PSM people love their acronyms and we all have our favorites. One of mine is “FUD” or Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. I generally use this acronym when discussing how the media reports stories about topics I am familiar with. It … Continue reading →

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West Texas Damage Photos

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Brian Chapin

I took a lot of pictures today while touring the damage in West, Texas. The album is open for viewing but I warn you that I am not a photographer and sometimes take a half dozen pictures of the same thing hoping … Continue reading →

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Texas Ammonia Explosion Coverage

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Brian Chapin

Just a quick note – I hope to update this later. The explosion in Texas has caused some reporters to imply that the company’s RMP filing for Anhydrous Ammonia was inaccurate because the “Worst Case Scenario” didn’t include an explosion … Continue reading →

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EPA & Tyson agree to settle in a BIG way

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Brian Chapin

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a Clean Air Act (CAA) settlement with Tyson Foods, Inc. and several of its affiliate corporations to address threats of accidental chemical releases after anhydrous ammonia was … Continue reading →

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Relationships matter!

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Brian Chapin

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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