Two House Democrats urge OSHA to expand Process Safety Management standards

Representatives George Miller (chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor) and Lynn Woolsey (chair of the committee’s subcommittee on Workforce Protections) want OSHA to improve control of reactive hazards, and in the interim, issue a compliance directive covering these hazards “in view of the decades-long history of death and injuries from reactive chemical accidents." They have written a letter to acting OSHA chief Jordan Barab urging him to expand the agency’s process safety management standards. “With a change in administration and its renewed focus on worker safety, we are optimistic that you will see the urgency in placing a reactive hazards rule back on the regulatory agenda,” wrote Miller and Woolsey.

The renewed pressure on OSHA was triggered by the Chemical Safety Board’s investigative findings that a December, 2007 explosion in a Jacksonville, Florida, production plant (T2 Laboratories) which killed four employees and injured 32 was caused by a runaway chemical reaction involving sodium, a highly reactive alkali metal. The CSB also noted in its final report on the T2 Laboratories incident that OSHA has not implemented the CSB’s previous recommendation to expand coverage under its process safety rule for reactive hazards.

Between January 1920 and June 2001, CSB has documented 167 serious reactive incidents in the U.S., resulting in 108 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Between 2001and 2006, CSB has documented another 249 uncontrolled chemical accidents (ishn.com).

Just yesterday it was released that OSHA cited Hiland Dairy Foods Co. in Wichita for alleged violations totaling $124,500 in penalties. OSHA's inspection found 24 alleged serious violations of the OSHA Act, the majority of which relate to deficiencies with the company's process safety management program (PSM), an OSHA requirement for preventing the catastrophic release of hazardous chemicals. The serious violations stem from overall deficiencies in the company's PSM program.

"There is no excuse for Hiland Dairy's inattention to such a critical program aimed at preventing the catastrophic release of hazardous chemicals," said Charles Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. "The company needs to address these issues quickly and sufficiently to ensure the safety and health of its workers and the surrounding community."

Sources:
osha.gov
ishn.com