Industry Worried As Process Safety Exemption For Storage Tanks Comes Under OSHA Scrutiny

OSHA regulators are taking a close look at removing from the agency's process safety management (PSM) standard a longtime exemption for flammable liquids kept inside atmospheric storage tanks, a move they believe would override a 1997 administrative law judge ruling that OSHA says has allowed companies to skirt the PSM requirements even when the tanks are connected to a process covered by the safety standard.