Compressed Gases


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Compressed Gases

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Process Safety: NTSB Issues Final Report on San Bruno Pipeline Explosion; Past and Present Practices Combined to Create Disaster
November 2011
Just after 6 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2010, a natural gas transmission pipeline owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) ruptured in San Bruno, leaving a crater 72 feet long by 26 feet wide. The resulting fire destroyed 38 homes, damaged 70 more, and killed eight people. . . . more »

Online Exclusive: Permit Checklist for Pressurized Tanks
COCA Online Exclusive October 2011
Boilers, compressed air tanks, and liquified petroleum gas tanks, which are widely used in and out of the workplace, are so common that they attract little notice. But employers should take note of them: the tanks are regulated by California's Unfired Pressure Vessel Safety Orders, which require most of these tanks to be inspected and have a state-issued permit to operate. . . . more »

Hazardous Chemicals: San Bruno Pipeline Explosion Leads to Urgent Safety Recommendations from NTSB
March 2011
Jessica Morales and Joseph Ruigomez were watching a football game at Ruigomez' home on Sept. 9, 2010. Arturo Vasquez was fixing himself a snack in the kitchen of his own house, not far away. Jacqueline and Janessa Grieg were waiting for family members to return for evening activities that had been planned. Like the other residents of the Crestmoor neighborhood in San Bruno, they were all caught completely by surprise just after 6 p.m., when disaster struck. . . . more »

Hazard Identification: Preventing Catastrophic Pressure Vessel Failures; Beware of These Dangerous Situations
February 2010
On June 11, 2008, an operator at the Goodyear rubber manufacturing plant in southeast Houston, Texas, was running steam through the process tubes of a heat exchanger unit as part of a cleaning operation. The steam heated residual anhydrous ammonia that was present in the exchanger's shell, but . . . more »

Appeals Board Decisions: Pressurized Pipes Injure and Kill; How to Protect Workers from These Hazards
March 2009
Devin Adkins, a union pipefitter and foreman, picked up a "rattle gun"--a pneumatic wrench used to place and remove bolts quickly--and began removing the cap from an eight-inch pipe that had not yet been placed in service. . . . more »

News Note: Chemical Safety Board Releases Propane Safety Video
December 2008
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a new 23-minute safety video, "Half an Hour to Tragedy," highlighting the causes of a deadly propane gas explosion at the Little General convenience s . . . more »

Bulletin: MSHA launches annual roof safety initiative
September 2008
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has launched its annual Preventive Roof/Rib Outreach Program (PROP) to highlight the potential hazards of roof falls and coal outbursts. Since 1997, 29 . . . more »

Appeals Board Decisions: Don't Let Compressed Air Tank Requirements Trip You Up
June 2008
Noramor Industries, Inc., of Corona (near Anaheim), creates reproductions of original artwork for galleries and businesses to use. After Cal/OSHA inspected the employer's production facility in 2005, the agency issued citations for 21 separate violations, including one for . . . more »

DOWNLOAD: Panama Shutters Dockets 05-R6D2-2167 through 2181
5/21/2007
Employer is in the business of woodworking for the manufacture of shutters. Beginning November 22, 2004, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (the Division) through Associate Industrial Hygienist Zohra Ali, conducted an inspection at a place of employment maintained by Employer . . . more »

News Note: Safety Advisory Issued for Untested Compressed Gas Cylinders
June 2006
The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued a safety advisory for certain high-pressure DOT exemption cylinders that were not tested . . . more »

News Note: NIOSH and FDA Issue Joint Public Health Notification
June 2006
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have published a joint Public Health Notification entitled Oxygen Regulator Fires Resulting . . . more »

Cal/OSHA's Top Ten: Permits to Operate Air Tanks
March 2006
The tenth most commonly cited Cal/OSHA standard of 2004 is found not in the General Industry Safety Orders but in the Unfired Pressure Vessel Safety Orders. Two hundred fifty-six citations were issued . . . more »

Working with Compressed Air
March 2006
Who thinks of air as a hazard? And yet, one of the definitions of a hazardous chemical is "a chemical that presents a physical hazard because of the way in which it is packaged, stored, or used." Compressed air certainly comes under that definition, and it can present a number of workplace hazards, such as . . . more »