Pyrophoria: Spontaneous Combustion

“Do I mind if you smoke? I don’t mind if you burst into flames. Just don’t light that cigarette.”  — Anonymous, derived from Sarah Bernhardt’s comment to Oscar Wilde Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is an idea first proposed by Paul Rolli in 1746. It seized the imagination of a gullible public. Since then, there have [...]

By |2023-11-30T11:02:04-06:00November 30th, 2023|Chemicals, Process Safety|1 Comment

Carbon Dioxide: A Simple Asphyxiant?

“In the last two decades of the twentieth century, hundreds of people have died of carbon dioxide asphyxiation near volcanoes in Cameroon and in Indonesia.”  — Allison Stark Draper, in Coping With Natural Disasters Many worry about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is also a much more urgent hazard. [...]

By |2023-11-16T11:26:38-06:00November 16th, 2023|Chemicals, Process Safety|Comments Off on Carbon Dioxide: A Simple Asphyxiant?

All Gases Are Hazardous

“Jumpin’ Jack Flash, it’s a gas.”  — Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, of The Rolling Stones Ever notice how the popular media never refer to chemicals. No, they talk about “toxic chemicals.” It’s as though any material that is not toxic is not a chemical, or perhaps, any material called a chemical must be toxic. [...]

By |2023-11-09T09:13:59-06:00November 9th, 2023|Chemicals, Process Safety|1 Comment

Crossing Streams: Safety During Simultaneous Operations

“Don’t cross the streams.” -Egon from Ghostbusters It doesn’t take much for two tasks to interfere with one another out in general industry. Work environments can be quite hectic as the end of a fiscal year approaches, where multiple goals and tasks are being wrapped up. Plant life is not much different, except some of [...]

By |2023-11-02T09:34:25-05:00November 2nd, 2023|Chemicals, Procedures, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Crossing Streams: Safety During Simultaneous Operations

Ain’t Misbehavin’: Frozen Pipes When It’s Warm

“Hell freezing over? I don’t know. But the devil’s definitely wearing a sweater.”  — J.R.Moehringer Nerd humor requires pointing out that Hell freezing over does NOT equate to sweater weather. Given that Hell is the place where it rains fire and brimstone (sulfur), the temperatures in Hell must be above the freezing point of sulfur. Molten [...]

By |2023-10-26T09:02:38-05:00October 26th, 2023|Chemicals, Process Safety|Comments Off on Ain’t Misbehavin’: Frozen Pipes When It’s Warm

Transportation Safety: Hauling Hazardous Chemicals

“This is the beginning, and the dawn of a new era of transportation.”  — Shervin Pishevar On Friday evening, September 29, 2023, at about 8:40 pm, the impatient driver of an SUV decided to pass a truck hauling anhydrous ammonia. Traffic on U.S. 40 was heavier than usual due to a detour of I-70 to [...]

By |2024-10-18T09:33:37-05:00October 5th, 2023|Chemicals, Current Events|Comments Off on Transportation Safety: Hauling Hazardous Chemicals

Are We in Danger? Reauthorizing CFATS

“Anything can go away. There’s no such thing as security. You can do things that give you the illusion of security, but there’s really no such thing.”  — Will Smith Authorization for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) expired on July 28, 2023. The House of Representatives passed the reauthorization bill by a vote of [...]

By |2023-09-07T20:11:44-05:00September 7th, 2023|Chemicals, Current Events, Process Safety|Comments Off on Are We in Danger? Reauthorizing CFATS

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: Hatch Additions

“Ideas nearly always seem brilliant when they’re hatched, so we never act on a new idea for at least twenty-four hours.”  — Steven D. Levitt Batch processes often rely on additions through open hatches for ingredients that don’t lend themselves to being pumped in through a pipe. These include liquid ingredients used in small quantities [...]

By |2023-08-17T15:01:00-05:00August 17th, 2023|Chemicals, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: Hatch Additions

But They Will Still Burn: Class IIIB Liquids

“Restaurant kitchens have grease fires all the time. A little oil on a burner, and you clear out a restaurant without raising too much suspicion or causing too much damage…Still, it’s best not to stick around too long after you’ve set a kitchen on fire.”  — Michael Westen, on Burn Notice It’s hard to get [...]

By |2023-08-14T18:29:51-05:00June 1st, 2023|Chemicals, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on But They Will Still Burn: Class IIIB Liquids

Close to the Edge: Banking, Railroads, and…the Chemical Industry?

“Banking should be boring.”  — Senator Elizabeth Warren We tend to celebrate those adventurers who take big risks for the chance at big rewards, at least when it pays off. On the other hand, we tend to condemn those that take big risks but don’t suffer the consequences when their risk-taking doesn’t pay off. Especially [...]

By |2023-08-11T17:48:08-05:00March 23rd, 2023|Chemicals, Current Events, Process Safety|Comments Off on Close to the Edge: Banking, Railroads, and…the Chemical Industry?
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