The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is calling on the EPA to review its existing Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) study to determine the effectiveness of existing regulations as well as the viability of utilizing inherently safer alkylation technologies in petroleum refineries. In a letter sent to the EPA, the CSB notes that in the last four years, the agency has investigated two refinery incidents where an explosion elevated the threat of a release of HF.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that the Aug. 10, 2016, natural gas fueled explosion and fire in a Maryland apartment building that killed seven people was caused by the failure of an indoor mercury service regulator with an unconnected vent line. The unconnected vent line and failed service regulator resulted in a leak of natural gas that accumulated in the apartment building’s meter room until it reached explosive levels and ignited.

The IPIECA – the global oil and gas industry association for advancing environmental and social performance - and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) have launched a new suite of guidance for the oil and gas industry: ‘Managing fatigue in the workplace’ The guidance includes fatigue management in the workplace, performance indicators for fatigue risk management systems, assessing risks from operator fatigue, and fatigue in fly-in, fly-out operations.

What are potential obstacles to building an effective Process Safety Management (PSM) program? From what I’ve seen there are three related obstacles to building an effective PSM program. The first is engagement. It really takes commitment from everyone up and down the chain of command to build a best-in-class PSM program. Related to this is timely and relevant communication so that everyone from the shop floor up to the C-suite is on the same page. And the third obstacle is availability of decision-useful data.

OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the State of North Dakota, and Bakken Basin Safety Consortium have signed an alliance to protect employees, and promote safety and health in the oil and gas industry. The two-year alliance will target both employees and employers.

The goal behind the digital oilfield is to optimize oilfield operations through the provision and implementation of data and analysis tools. These digital methodologies are becoming more common in logistics and machinery monitoring - areas that can be translated from other industries. The Holy Grail still remains providing real-time, reliable production data.

"We see big opportunities to deploy innovative strategies and technologies to monitor, measure and ultimately prevent emissions," said Matt Kolesar, regulatory manager at ExxonMobil’s XTO Energy affiliate, Since 2017, ExxonMobil has expanded its U.S. methane leak detection program, committed to its first global methane target, supported methane monitoring technology innovation and encouraged EPA to regulate methane emissions at new and existing sources.

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a common, highly hazardous industrial chemical linked to breast cancer and immune system cancers like non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lymphocytic leukemia (see EPA IRIS Exec Summary, Dec 2016). Concerned community members in Illinois made it a 2018 campaign issue after two federal agencies released studies showing elevated cancer risks outside Chicago.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will be assisting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in its investigation of a fatal, Feb. 23, 2018, natural gas-fueled explosion in Dallas, Texas. The USACE began taking soil samples this week in the area of Espanola Drive and Durango Drive in Dallas, to help the NTSB evaluate the technical accuracy of the preliminary geotechnical assessment report.