Federal agencies Chemical Manufacturing

OSHA seeking feedback on draft Process Safety Management Standard guidance

oil refinery

Photo: alice-photo/iStock/Thinkstock

Washington – OSHA is seeking public comment on three chemical facility safety guidance documents regarding the agency’s Process Safety Management Standard. The documents pertain to pyrotechnics manufacturing, small businesses and storage facilities.

In August 2013, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13650, which directed the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security and the Environmental Protection Agency to lead a government workgroup to identify ways to reduce safety and security risks associated with chemicals covered under the PSM standard. The order was issued following a series of chemical facility incidents. The working group issued a progress report in May 2014 and an update in June 2015.

Comments on the draft guidance are due Sept. 23.

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Sam Barnett
September 9, 2016
I believe the PSM standard is designed to control potential hazards within a chemical plant are sufficient. But, the problems arise from the lack of daily safety when handling these chemicals. I have worked in the natural gas industry for more than 37 years and have seen it first hand. What is documented is not always what goes on in the plant. Engineering safety must be increased to prevent employee accidents, because we all know that Personal protective gear should be the last resource. The human factor takes over an employee depending on fatigue, mood, and working conditions at any given time. Strong and reliable supervision is needed daily on every job task. There is not enough effective training for all employees, there is a lot of ineffective training that goes on. I am guessing at this number, but I believe 90% of all employees that attend a training class on potential hazards can not explain a faction of what they have been trained on. We first have to train employees on how to listen, learn, and retain information. These comments are only an opinion and not meant to offend or hurt your feelings. The goal is to increase safety awareness when handling harmful chemicals.