Chemicalprocessingsafety Podcasts

Trish and Traci discuss the response to the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment noting that environmental factors could be an issue for some time. Also, this episode unpacks how ExxonMobil was able to weather a hurricane just five miles from the epicenter without loss of containment. Access the full transcript at https://www.chemicalprocessing.c…

Insight into rescue challenges and solutions at chemical facilities. Visit https://www.chemicalprocessing.com for more tools and resources aimed at helping you be efficient and safe.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Turning tragedy into tools to help avoid future catastrophes will help keep workers safe.By chemicalprocessingsafety

The workplace can be so much more for colleagues than simply doing a job and going home. If you want to succeed, you need to listen and communicate as it's the currency of safety.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Practice, practice and more practice makes great emergency response but be careful of the message you are sending.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Unlike the oil industry, we can set the foundation of embedding inherently safer design into how we manage hydrogen going forward. This can be a heated topic and it can get politicized. We need to make sure we're really applying inherently safer design principles when we pick the concept that we are going with, let alone do the engineering down the…

Grandfathered standards from the 1950s along with incorrect blueprints led to loss of life and reputation.By chemicalprocessingsafety

A revolutionary process safety program at a refinery in Blaine, Washington presents challenges in the best ways possible -- by helping operators develop new skills and flex new muscles. It’s always a good day when somewhere in the world a new process-safety champion has been formed.By chemicalprocessingsafety

This episode looks back on the deadly dust explosion that occurred at Didion Milling in Cambria, Wisconsin. On May 31, 2017, the explosion killed five workers and injured 15 others. In mid-May 2022 a federal grand jury indicted the operator and six management officials on nine criminal counts, including two counts related to willful violations of f…

The war in Ukraine and the anniversary of Chernobyl bring to light lessons learned from the past and unfortunate worries of today.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Process safety is impacted by automation, robotics, devices and solutions. Whether the impact is positive or negative remains in the hands of humans who implement the technology.By chemicalprocessingsafety

What went wrong at the Piper Alpha oil rig has taught us a lot about permit-to-work systems. They are in place to ensure control of the ownership and activities of a particular piece of equipment -- it’s about keeping people safe and also understanding the status of your plant.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Good process safety means good reliability … good reliability means good productivity … good productivity is what makes us money. Sometimes you have to talk about the bottom line in order to get buy-in for process-safety initiatives.By chemicalprocessingsafety

A review of 2021’s process-safety incidents points out that there's nothing new in any of these events; there's no new technology pathway, there's no new chemical reaction or law of chemistry or physics. That means these are all preventable incidents. What are you doing at your facilities to understand these hazards?…

If you're relying on humans getting it right every time, you're going to have an incident. The key is making sure your systems are more resilient to humans making a mistakeBy chemicalprocessingsafety

The chemical industry has been doing risk assessment the same way for quite some time. This new method focuses on subtle changes, which can lead to degradation of design safeguards.By chemicalprocessingsafety

IChemE’s Trish Kerin ponders that $64,000 question as she and Traci Purdum look back at lessons learned from the Montara oil field incident in 2009.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Was the Seveso accident, which released dioxin in the air and was named by Time magazine as one of the top manmade environmental disasters, a black swan event? Not likely, according to Trish Kerin, director of the IChemE Safety Centre. On the 45th anniversary of this catastrophic event, we take a look at lessons learned.…

A money-grab hack prompted executive orders to get cybersecurity under control at firms supplying the government. Private companies will have to comply even if they aren’t the primary contractor.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Preparing for the worst is in a facility’s best interest. Indeed, in 2020 there were over 800 natural and man-made disasters that resulted in $4.5 trillion in damages. This episode of Process Safety with Trish & Traci features Dale Sands, an expert in risk reduction and resiliency.By chemicalprocessingsafety

The catastrophic incident at the Fukushima power plant 10 years ago started long before an earthquake and tsunami wiped out power and caused three reactor meltdowns -- the real problem started in 1967 when the plant was built in a tsunami-prone area. The lessons learned from this disaster can save others.…

Advertising so many days since the last injury can do more harm than good at a facility. The absence of an incident doesn't mean the presence of safety. Focusing on the correct indicators can help you intervene and potentially change the future. In this episode, Trish & Traci prove when the measure becomes a target it ceases to be a good measure.…

When disaster strikes, first responders already have a tough job ahead of them. Don’t put them in further danger by failing to effectively communicate what your facility does and what hazardous substances are stored there.By chemicalprocessingsafety

It starts with the idea of the inherently safer design principle and that involves elimination. You can take out one hazard but are you increasing the presence of other hazards? What's better? What's worse? This is a judgment call that needs to be made on an engineering basis. This episode reiterates that process safety requires constant vigilance.…

A heat exchanger, management of change issues and a gap in knowledge led to a catastrophic incident. All of these were preventable mistakes. When will we learn?By chemicalprocessingsafety

In this episode Trish and Traci speak with podcast guest Valerie Stakes, a bilingual safety trainer based in San Diego, California. The trio conclude companies need to ensure that communications are understandable because process safety doesn't give you second chances.By chemicalprocessingsafety

To mark the 15th anniversary of the Mumbai High North Platform disaster, Trish and Traci discussed what happened that day in 2005. This incident started off as a rather mundane issue -- the cook at the site was injured and needed evacuation. A series of unfortunate events, precipitated by weather conditions, led to the deaths of 22 people. All said…

Trains carrying dangerous cargo like crude oil -- is it the right way to go? Applying process safety principles like inherently safer design could prevent derailments, explosions and deaths. In this episode, Trish & Traci examine the recent uptick in crude oil derailments and what could be done to prevent them.…

In this episode of Process Safety with Trish & Traci, we learn how Trish landed in the role of director of the IChemE Safety Centre. The mishaps and safety incidents she was involved in led to her passion to ensure process-safety standards were practiced all over the world. It's a dream job that began with an aviation fueling accident.…

Having to accommodate social distancing practices along with other precautions to ensure workers are safe is a challenge but not insurmountable. Trish & Traci discuss new ways to do old thingsBy chemicalprocessingsafety

You can effectively address your workforce if you factor in how you will interact with the attendees, how you will get their feedback, how you will encourage discussion amongst them. This episode of Process Safety With Trish & Traci uncovers best practices for presenting and attending safety training virtually.…

This podcast takes a look at major process safety incidents -- West Texas, Deepwater Horizon and others. Trish Kerin, director of IChemE Safety Centre, and Traci Purdum, senior editor with Chemical Processing, discuss what happened and what was learned.By chemicalprocessingsafety

This episode of Process Safety With Trish & Traci details tips and tactics to better lead during trying times -- whether it’s a global pandemic or just a time of critical importance. Spoiler: Self-care is important as is a sense of fun.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Having thorough and up-to-date process safety documentation will enable plant personnel and first responders to act quickly. Knowledge is power -- be sure that if something goes wrong you know what to do about it. This episode of Process Safety with Trish & Traci offers sage advice.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Is inherently safer design really safer? Short answer is yes -- but you have to understand the tradeoffs. In this edition of Process Safety with Trish & Traci we delve into past incidents and lessons learned. We also reveal a fun fact about Trevor Kletz.By chemicalprocessingsafety

This episode of Process Safety with Trish & Traci discusses the topic of punishment for acts that directly relate to safety incidents. While true accidents happen, there are cases where corporate wrongdoing is the reason for injury or loss of life.By chemicalprocessingsafety

Today's topic is a news story from earlier this year regarding the fire and explosions and ultimate shuttering of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery. The official word from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is that a corroded pipe fitting, found to be half the thickness of a credit card at its thinnest point, led t…

It's not a question of if you will get hacked -- it's a question of when. Traci Purdum, senior digital editor of Chemical Processing, and Trish Kerin, director of IChemE Safety Centre, discuss cyber vulnerabilities and how to stay ahead of the bad actors wanting to stymie your operations.By chemicalprocessingsafety

The aftermath of a hurricane or extreme weather goes well beyond the event itself. Many issues arise that can cause problems months or even years later. How do you prepare for the current weather and mitigate against accidents in the future?By chemicalprocessingsafety

Trish Kerin, director of IChemE Safety Center, and Traci Purdum, senior editor at Chemical Processing, discuss process safety regulations. In the end, a safe workspace is a productive workspace and regulations aren't meant to keep you down -- they are meant to keep you safe. The key is making sure regulators are educated enough to help you reach yo…

In this episode of Process Safety with Trish and Traci we examine recent catastrophic events at chemical plants in China. Trish Kerin, director of the IChemE Safety Center offers compelling insight into what might be causing so many accidents abroad.By chemicalprocessingsafety