IMPROVING CHEMICAL FACILITY
SAFETY AND SECURITY
OSHA’S DIRECTIVE TO MODERNIZE
PSM
Spring PDC
May 1, 2014
Presented by LT Environmental, Inc.
Process Safety Management

Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous
Chemicals (29 CFR 1910.119)
 Adopted

May 26, 1992
Process Safety Management (PSM) is the
application of management principles and
systems to the identification, understanding, and
control of process hazards to protect employees,
facility assets, and the environment.
Process Safety Management
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Employee
Participation
Process Safety
Information
Process Hazard
Analysis
Operating Procedures
Employee Training
Contractors
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Pre-Startup Safety
Review
Mechanical Integrity
Hot Work (Non-routine
Work Authorizations)
Management of
Change
Incident Investigation
Emergency Planning
and Response
Compliance Audits
Application of Rule

Appendix A of 29 CFR 1910.119 contains a listing
of toxic and reactive highly hazardous chemicals
which present a potential for a catastrophic event
at or above the threshold quantities listed.
Application of Rule

The PSM regulation applies to facilities that have
processes meeting one or both of the following
criteria. The facility contains or stores:
A quantity in excess of 10,000-lb of a flammable liquid or
gas.
 Highly hazardous toxic or reactive chemicals that exceed
the established threshold quantities as listed in the
regulation.

Anhydrous ammonia
 Chlorine
 Hydrogen sulfide

Threshold quantity = 10,000-lb
Threshold quantity = 1,500-lb
threshold quantity = 1,500-lb
Application of Rule

Currently Exempts
 Retail
facilities
Application of Rule

Currently Exempts
 Oil
and gas well drilling or servicing
Application of Rule

Currently Exempts
 Hydrocarbon
fuels used solely for workplace
consumption as a fuel, if such fuels are not part of a
process containing another highly hazardous chemical
covered by this standard
Application of Rule

Currently Exempts
 Flammable
liquid stored in atmospheric tanks or
transferred, which are kept below their normal boiling
point without benefit of chilling or refrigerating and
are not connected to a process
Application of Rule

Currently Exempts
 Normally
unoccupied remote facilities
 “Normally
unoccupied remote facility” means a facility
which is operated, maintained, or serviced by employees
who visit the facility only periodically to check its operation
and to perform necessary operating or maintenance tasks.
No employees are permanently stationed at the facility.
Facilities meeting this definition are not contiguous with, and
must be geographically remote from all other buildings,
processes, or persons.

OSHA Interpretation letter = average 14 hours per week
Executive Order 13650

On August 1, 2013, President Obama signed
Executive Order 13650, entitled “Improving
Chemical Facility Safety and Security”
 Went
to:
 DOJ
 DOT
 EPA
 OSHA
 HSA
Executive Order 13650

9/1/2013 - OSHA
 Authorizes
enhanced information collection with the
purpose of suggesting changes to the PSM Standard
 Asked 17 Questions on Topics of Potential Rulemaking
or Policy Change
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Clarifying the PSM exemption for atmospheric
storage tanks
 Original
intent to include but excluded by a judge’s
ruling in 1997.
 OSHA wants to include atmospheric storage tanks within
or connected to a process.
 Not
terminals or tank batteries, but….
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Removing the oil & gas well drilling and servicing
exemption
 Original
pre-amble stated that these would be exempt
from this rule because a separate one would be
established.
 What would be covered under the thresholds?
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Removing the oil & gas production facility
exemption
 Originally
included, however an objection by API about
OSHA not completing an economic analysis on this
portion stayed enforcement.
 What about multiple well site pads?
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Expanding PSM Coverage and Requirements for
Reactivity Hazards
A
number of the listed chemicals are highly reactive but
the list does not cover all highly reactive chemicals.
 Recommended approach takes into account not only
certain specific chemicals but also their overall
reactivity in determining the level of coverage.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Updating the List of Highly Hazardous Chemicals



The list has remained unchanged since OSHA promulgated the
PSM standard in 1992.
Current list provides specific concentrations for 11 of 137 listed
chemicals.
OSHA has issued interpretation considering PSM coverage to
apply if threshold quantities of such chemicals are present at
commercial grade which OSHA has interpreted as "a typical
maximum concentration of the chemical that is commercially
available and shipped." In a court case resulting from an
explosion involving hydroxylamine, a U.S. District Court dismissed
a criminal indictment based on inconsistencies in OSHA's
statements regarding coverage of hydroxylamine.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Revising the PSM Standard to Require Additional
Management-System Elements
 Adopt
management system elements from safety
standards that other federal agencies or professional
societies have promulgated since 1992
 Center
for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) has defined a
Risk-Based Process Safety (RBPS)
 Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's Safety
and Environmental Management System (SEMS)
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Require Evaluation of Updates to Applicable
recognized and generally accepted good
engineering practices (RAGAGEP)

Definition - Center for Chemical Process Safety: RAGAGEP
are the basis for engineering, operation, or maintenance
activities and are themselves based on established codes,
standards, published technical reports or recommended
practices (RP) or similar documents.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Expanding PSM Standard to Cover the Mechanical
Integrity of Any Safety-Critical Equipment
 Currently
applies to pressure vessels, storage tanks,
piping systems (including piping components such as
valves), relief and vent devices, emergency shutdown
systems, controls (including monitoring devices, sensors,
alarms, and interlocks), and pumps.
 if an employer deems additional equipment to be
critical to a particular process, the employer should
consider that equipment to be covered by MI
requirements.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Clarifying PSM Standard with explicit requirement
to manage organizational changes
 The
Management of Change (MOC) element in the PSM
Standard did not include or contemplate organizational
changes.
 OSHA’s current interpretation of the PSM Standard
MOC provisions is that if changes to personnel,
budgets, etc., can affect process safety then they should
be covered by MOC.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Require Coordination of Emergency Planning with
Local Emergency-Response Authorities beyond LEPCs
 The
PSM standard requires employers to establish and
implement an emergency action plan in accordance
with other OSHA standards. However, the standard
does not require employers to coordinate emergency
planning with local emergency response authorities.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Requiring third-party compliance audits
 Current
Standard requires a facility audit every three
years, but no requirements for make up of audit team.
 Safety and Environmental Management System (SEMS)
standard from Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement (BSEE) requires the audit lead be an
independent third party, may be expanded to certified
third party.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Cover Dismantling and Disposal of Explosives,
Blasting Agents, and Pyrotechnics
 The
standard applies to the manufacture, keeping,
having, storage, sale, and transportation of explosives,
blasting agents, and pyrotechnics but it does not apply
to the sale and use of fireworks or the use of
explosives.
 Dismantling and disposing of explosives are not
covered by the standard.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Address the Storage, Handling, and Management
of Ammonium Nitrate
 Not
currently covered. OSHA is seeking comments on
safe work practices for storing, handling, and
managing ammonium nitrate.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Changing Enforcement Policy of the PSM Exemption
for Retail Facilities
 The
term retail facility is not defined in the standard.
The preamble to the standard noted that chemicals in
retail facilities are generally in small packages,
containers, and allotments, and gives the example of
gasoline stations as a type of facility that typically
would qualify for the exemption.
Potential Rulemaking or Policy Change

Changing Enforcement Policy for Highly Hazardous
Chemicals
Contact:
LT Environmental, Inc.
4600 West 60th Avenue
Arvada, Colorado 80003
303-433-9788
Jeff Citrone, CIH, CSP, REA
jcitrone@ltenv.com
303-962-5494
Compliance, Remediation, Engineering