Amplify Process Safety

Episode 122 - Incident Breakdown: 2023 Heater Fire at Marathon Martinez Renewables Facility In this episode, Magi and Jackson breakdown the most recent CSB final report. They cover the 2023 fire at the Marathon Martinez Renewables Facility that resulted in a significant injury for one employee and $350 million in property damage. This breakdown includes a review of the event, contributing factors and recommendations from the CSB. Tune in to find out more, and check out the report ?at the link below. https://lnkd.in/eW59hnZ9 Listen now at the link below, or wherever you enjoy your podcasts. https://lnkd.in/eb76kjiK

The CSB recently released an update on the incident at the Givaudan site in Louisville, KY that resulted in two fatalities. During routine operation, an uncontrolled reaction occurred and caused the vessel to explode because pressure could not be relieved quickly enough. This demonstrates the importance of understanding your Pressure Relief Devices, or PRDs. You can see that the reactor that exploded had two PRDs on it. According to the report, the pressure relief valve did operate, yet the scenario still ended in catastrophic overpressure of the reactor. How can this happen? Two things stand out. 1.) It is very common for processes to have PRDs that are not sized for all scenarios. If you have a PRD that is not sized for a runaway reaction then you cannot expect the device to protect your process in a situation like this.?Remember not only does it have to be properly sized for the scenarios you are trying to protect against, but you must have the documentation and calculations to prove it. 2.) The relief devices are on the same nozzle as the process vent. This is not breaking any rules, but it requires more considerations, particularly in a PHA. For example, what happens if that nozzle plugs? In this report it is noted that defoamer is used, indicating that foam could get on the vent/relief nozzle, potentially plugging it. If they had considered this in their PHA than a lack of pressure relief would have been documented and safeguards to mitigate this risk would have been required. This is because the PRDs would not be independent of the initiating event.? We are interested to discover what more the CSB finds in their investigation.

Episode 121 - ARRR Summaries & Trends In this episode Magi and Jackson break down the CSB's Accidental Release Reporting Rule (ARRR) - what it is and some of the incidents reported under this rule. The ARRR requires reporting certain incidents to the CSB and has led them to deploy to some incidents that they may not have otherwise investigated. ? For more information about the Accidental Release Reporting Rule (ARRR), check out CSB Incident Reports Volume One at the link below. Listen now on our website at the link below or wherever you enjoy your podcasts. https://lnkd.in/eXZAPe9c #AmplifyYourProcessSafety #podcast

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board just released another valuable safety video. Be sure to check out their video below, to learn more about the fatal January 2020 incident at the Watson Grinding and Manufacturing Company facility. Want to take a deeper dive? Take a listen to "Episode 81 - Incident Breakdown: 2020 Fatal Explosion and Fire at Watson Grinding Facility" in which we cover the CSB's final investigation report on this event. Listen at the link below or wherever you enjoy your podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gcZEn_Vf

Are you caught up on all our current episodes? In "Episode 120 - The New & Improved Combustible Dust Standard - NFPA 660", released 2/21/2025, Rob Bartlett and Jackson Colley lead listeners through NFPA 660; the new and improved combustible dust standard, which was released in late 2024. They discuss the reason for the new standard, other meaningful changes in the standard, general requirements of the standard, the titles of the industry specific chapters, which requirements are retroactive or not, and which annexes they found most valuable. Find "Episode 120 - The New & Improved Combustible Dust Standard - NFPA 660" wherever you enjoy your podcasts (our show is titled "Amplify Your Process Safety", or listen right on our website at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gGPDeUUf #AmplifyYourProcessSafety #podcast

The latest episode is here! In today's episode, Rob Bartlett and Jackson Colley lead listeners through NFPA 660; the new and improved combustible dust standard, which was released in late 2024. They discuss the reason for the new standard, other meaningful changes in the standard, general requirements of the standard, the titles of the industry specific chapters, which requirements are retroactive or not, and which annexes they found most valuable. Find "Episode 120 - The New & Improved Combustible Dust Standard - NFPA 660" wherever you enjoy your podcasts, or listen right on our website at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gGPDeUUf #AmplifyYourProcessSafety #podcast

Congratulations to our friends at the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Their videos are an invaluable resource when it comes to learning lessons from the past in an effort to prevent future incidents.

Did you catch our latest episode? Find Episode 119 - Behind the Curtain - Updating of PRD Standards with Guest Casey Houston on our website at the link below or wherever you enjoy your podcasts. https://lnkd.in/gYCn25wt #AmplifyYourProcessSafety #Podcast

The newest episode is here; Episode 119 - Behind the Curtain - Updating of PRD Standards with Guest Casey Houston. In this episode, Rob Bartlett is joined by Casey Houston, principal engineer of Chemitics, a consulting firm that specializes in overpressure protection and effluent handling system designs.?Casey has been a participant with the AIChE DIERS group since 2006 and has been a member with the API Subcommittee on Pressure Relief System designs since 2011.?He is also the co-chair for the API Task Force on Technical Report 522. In this episode, they discuss updating pressure relief device standards and what goes into making API standards updates. ? Find this episode wherever you enjoy your podcasts or at https://lnkd.in/gYCn25wt. #AmplifyYourProcessSafety #podcast

Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS) can present unique hazards. Without careful management of SIMOPS, conditions can be ripe for a process safety incident. Be sure to check out this final copy of the Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS) Safe Work Practice from the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). Then take a listen to "Episode 80 - Incident Breakdown: 2020 Fatal Chemical Release at Wacker Polysilicon Facility in Tennessee," in which we cover an incident where the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board identified SIMOPS as one of the key safety lessons related to the event. Find Episode 80 here: https://lnkd.in/gNu4CBTQ #AmplifyYourProcessSafety #podcast