Citgo Refining and Chemicals Co. LP has been cited for five safety violations by OSHA, which opened an inspection at the company's Corpus Christi facility upon receiving a complaint that employees had been exposed to a leak of hydrofluoric acid at a flange in the alkylation unit while performing maintenance work.

A New Jersey chemical company failed to ensure that its workers were not overexposed to formaldehyde, resulting in some of the 14 health and safety violations lodged against it recently by OSHA. Proposed penalties total $82,500.

OSHA has cited West Lafayette, Ind.-based Great Lakes Chemical Corp. with 18 serious safety violations at the company's El Dorado facility for exposing workers to the unexpected release of bromine.

It’s been almost two months since I posted my 14 Points of Safety) on my personal blog. I’ve explored the first two points in detail on both www.philladuke.wordpress.com and here. I thought this week I would tackle the my third point, Focus on prevention.

In a draft report released today at a news conference in Buffalo, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) determined that an explosion that killed one and injured another contract welder on November 9, 2010, was caused by the ignition of flammable vinyl fluoride inside a large process tank, a hazard which had been overlooked by DuPont engineers.