Federal chemical safety experts are urging California regulators to adopt the “safety case” approach to chemical plants that is used in some European countries, saying similar regulations at the state level would effectively patch holes in federal OSHA's regulatory regime, and citing a report from their probe of the 2012 Chevron refinery blast in Richmond, CA, as underscoring the need for a change in direction.
A Louisiana petrochemical plant has been cited for OSHA safety procedure violations following a deadly blast earlier this year that drew national attention to chemical facility safety and security, including one “willful” citation by the federal agency -- a development that could also reflect intensifying pressure by OSHA on the industry through enforcement tools as well as a growing focus on process safety management (PSM).
OSHA is eying the possibility of making several major changes to its process safety management (PSM) standard, designed to protect workers from catastrophic events inside chemical plants, and process safety enforcement policies, according to sources who say the agency's thinking may be reflected in a series of questions OSHA is asking about how regulators could improve the PSM and related standards.
Worker safety and environmental advocates in New Jersey are voicing deep concerns about the effectiveness of the state government's rollout of rules intended to require so-called “inherently safer technology” (IST) in chemical plants across the densely populated state, echoing calls at the federal level for rules mandating employers seek alternatives to cut the risks involved in chemicals and processes currently in use.
OSHA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security are working toward a formal partnership in which data would be shared among the agencies regarding chemical plant safety and security, OSHA chief David Michaels recently said.
Political leaders in both parties made emphatic statements that more effective data sharing among OSHA and other federal agencies -- especially the Environmental Protection Agency -- could help head off chemical releases and explosions stemming from inadequate plant safety measures.
OSHA faces a 90-day deadline to start collecting comments on possible gaps in the agency's process safety management (PSM) standard, as well as controversial exemptions to the rule for retail and commercial-grade operations, under a sweeping new executive order from President Obama.