From nanotechnology exposure guidelines to unusually large fines for a Sinclair Oil refinery in Wyoming to electrical safety, here are the week's top EHS-related news stories as featured on ISHN.com:
Wyoming’s most-fined refinery for safety violations is facing another round of penalties, this time stemming from a formal complaint and three August incidents at the facility, according to a report in the Casper Star-Tribune. The Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed a $259,950 fine against the Sinclair Oil-owned Sinclair Wyoming Refinery. The fine would be the largest levied against a refinery in Wyoming in the past five years.
Wyoming oil refineries faced more citations for dangerous safety conditions per oil barrel of production capacity than those in any other state over the past five years, a Casper Star-Tribune analysis of federal data shows. Government safety inspectors tagged Wyoming refiners with 239 citations for serious, willful or repeat safety violations in 2008-2012, according to data from federal OSHA. That means Wyoming refiners were cited on an average of every eight days.
The California Division of Occupational Safety & Health (Cal/OSHA) has issued 25 citations against Chevron USA, with proposed penalties totaling nearly $1 million, for state safety standard violations related to the August 6, 2012 fire at Chevron’s Richmond refinery.
A search-and-rescue-dog will be brought in today to assist searchers who are still trying to find a worker missing in the Gulf of Mexico after a fire and explosion on an oil platform last week.
The New Mexico Environment Department says it’s reached a settlement with Navajo Refining of Artesia for citations issued by the Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, or New Mexico OSHA.
Answers provided by Hamed Khoshniat, Safety Officer, Safety and Fire Fighting Department, NIOPDC. Hamed is an expert training courses instructor with seven years of experience in the field of oil and gas safety matters.hamedkhoshniat@yahoo.co.uk
Wyoming Refining Co.’s oil refinery is situated literally on Main Street in Newcastle and a mere half-mile away from Newcastle High School. The school is equipped with a “panic button” that shuts off all ventilation in the building in the event of a toxic spill.
A Venezuelan refinery disaster that killed dozens of people and damaged hundreds of homes has finally been declared over, according to the country’s Oil Minister. Rafael Ramirez said that four days after the massive explosion which sparked the fire, the site is now in a “cooling phase.”