For operations like oil and gas that involve hazardous processes, change management can be a matter of life and death. Operational failures resulting from insufficiently planned changes can result in catastrophic events.

A series of catastrophic chemical incidents in the 1980s led to OSHA issuing its Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard in 1992. The PSM standard establishes a comprehensive management program that integrates technologies, procedures, and management practices.

OSHA has cited Elan Chemical Company Inc. of Newark, New Jersey for 17 serious safety and health violations. The agency initiated an inspection on Aug. 4, 2015, under its national emphasis program focused on chemical manufacturers.

OSHA has announced a request for information seeking public comment on potential revisions to its Process Safety Management standard and related standards, as well as other policy options to prevent major chemical incidents.

If OSHA follows through with its recently unveiled new regulatory agenda, employers can expect several changes to the Process Safety Management and Flammable Liquids (PSM) standard that will likely affect their operations, according to Arent Fox, a Washington, D.C. law firm that handles occupational safety and health issues.

Echo Lake Foods Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration with 27 safety violations carrying fines of $150,000. Multiple violations of OSHA's process safety management standards for facilities that use highly hazardous chemicals were found at the company's Burlington and Franksville frozen food production plants.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) will hold a public meeting in Washington, D.C. on July 25 in Washington, to decide if OSHA has adequately implemented seven regulatory recommendations it issued.

An OSHA investigation following the death of two workers at a crude oil refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma resulted in fifteen serious citations against Wynnewood Refining Company – earning the company a spot in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP).