Safety Tip-Which is the best one you’ve received?

As more than half the year has passed us by, it is time to review the safety performance of our plants-as well as the people who run them. It is not just that the plant should run safely without any near misses or accidents; we should also work on keeping it that way for years … Read more

Safety Guidelines-which ones do you follow?

We all have several safety guidelines in our plants.  Some are given as top management directives,  some are given out by the local authorities, some by the federal/higher government authorities like OSHA/ other  independent bodies like the US Chemical Safety Board  and some others are plant and process specific only.  Some of these are introduced, … Read more

Yet another Hydrogen Sulfide accident!

After the recent Total facility gas leak case, this is another one in Texas. A gas supected to contain Hydrogen Sulfide has affected workers at the Tyco plant in North Lubbock. It is not clear if they were wearing any personal protective equipment or not. It is also unclear if they were carrying any portable … Read more

Explosion at Sunoco refinery in Delaware-ethylene leak suspected cause

It is Monday, May 18, 2009 and firefighters are still battling flames at Sunoco’s  refinery and petrochemical complex at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. A suspected Ethylene leak caused a massive explosion and fire in a unit in the refinery and petrochemical complex on Sunday night. Luckily, no casualties have been reported. Sunoco reportedly operates the Marcus … Read more

Suspected gas leak at Total refinery in Texas affects workers

On May 12, 2009, there was reportedly a gas leak at Total’s Port Arthur refinery and petrochemical complex, which affected a few contract workers. The gas was apparently Hydrogen Sulfide gas, but Total says that no evidence of a leak was found. However, it is unclear if any gas detectors were actually mounted near the … Read more