From the oil industry to mining, agriculture to research, any working environment that puts employees in close proximity to occupational hazards such as potentially harmful chemicals must make workplace safety a priority. The food processing and packing industries are no exception.

When a check valve in the pump room of a Massachusetts food plant leaked about nine pounds of anhydrous ammonia last year, the ammonia sensor in the pump room failed to sound an alarm.

After two years of litigation to correct dozens of hazards that might have had catastrophic effects on its workers and the surrounding community, Unicold Corp. has agreed to make health and safety improvements at its refrigerated food warehouse in Honolulu.

OSHA has renewed its alliance with the Global Cold Chain Alliance to continue working together to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemical releases from ammonia refrigeration systems. The alliance will also focus on improving the process safety management programs for these systems.

The EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice have announced a settlement with Tyson Foods, Inc. and several of its affiliate corporations over incidents in which anhydrous ammonia was released at facilities in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska, resulting in multiple injuries, property damage, and one fatality.