News bulletin – safety

NEWS BULLETIN

SAFETY

PREPARING FOR ERG 2020

The US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has called a public meeting to solicit input for the planned 2020 edition of the Emergency Response Guide (ERG2020). The meeting will take place on 17 June in Washington, DC.

During the meeting, PHMSA will respond to stakeholder requests for a public discussion of the methodology used to determine the appropriate response protective distances for poisonous vapours resulting from spills involving dangerous goods considered toxic by inhalation in the ERG2016 Green Pages.

PHMSA will also solicit comments related to new methodologies and considerations for future editions of the ERG. Additionally, the meeting will include discussions on the outcomes of field experiments, ongoing research efforts to better understand environmental effects on airborne toxic gas concentrations, and updates to be published in the ERG2020.

ABS, CINS ON STOWAGE

ABS and members of the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS) have been working for the past six months on developing best stowage strategy guidelines designed to help mitigate risks posed by the stowage of dangerous goods on containerships. The guidelines will be published shortly on the CINS website.

“By working together with ABS and other leading international partners, we can share our experiences and help to improve the safety of stowing dangerous goods,” says Uffe ErnstFrederiksen, CINS chairman. “We are looking forward to channelling these experiences into the development of this new industry best practices document and welcome views, insights, and other risk-based approaches from various carriers that can help improve fire safety in our industry.” www.cinsnet.com

UPDATE NEEDED ON HYDROFLUORIC ACID

The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review its existing hydrofluoric acid study to determine the effectiveness of existing regulations as well as the viability of using inherently safer alkylation technologies in oil refineries. CSB has investigated two incidents in the past four years in which an explosion raised the threat of a release of hydrofluoric acid.

“Refinery workers and surrounding community residents are rightly concerned about the adequacy of the risk management for the use of hazardous chemicals like hydrofluoric acid,” says CSB’s interim executive Kristen Kulinowksi. “The EPA should review its 1993 HF study to ensure the health and safety of communities near petroleum refineries utilising HF.” www.csb.gov

RESPONDING TO RAIL FIRES

Transport Canada has published an interesting video on emergency response procedures involving rail tank cars with flammable liquids. The 12-minute film looks at the differences between structural fires and those involving the transport of large volumes of flammable liquids and discusses some of the different approaches that are necessary, including non-intervention.

The video is available on YouTube and can also be viewed on the Transport Canada website at www.tc.gc.ca/eng/mediaroom/ responding-railcar-incidents-involvingflammable-liquids.html.

REFAC GOES TO GERMANY

The Chemical Business Association (CBA) has sold its specialist regulatory compliance company, Regulatory Facilitation Company Limited (ReFaC), to CSB GmbH of Krefeld, Germany, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction completed on 4 March. CBA says it had prepared a contingency plan to relocate ReFaC to enable it to represent UK companies after Brexit, and then received an unsolicited offer from CSB.

CBA members in the UK will now be able to use CSB’s REACH and Only Representative (OR) services to ensure their compliance with EU regulations and access CSB’s expertise in REACH, GHS and the Biodical Products Regulation.

“We are very pleased to acquire ReFaC and its specialist team,” says Lars Dobbertin, general manager of CSB. “We will continue to deliver ReFaC’s high quality compliance services from its UK office to its existing clients selling into EU markets. We are now also in an excellent position to offer clients the full regulatory support for the UK after Brexit. Our plan is to grow the business by helping companies comply with both UK and EU chemical regulations through an enhanced service portfolio.” www.csb-online.de

SAFETY IN LNG BUNKERING

The Society for Gas as Marine Fuel (SGMF) has issued a formal safety notice addressing concerns regarding safety in LNG bunkering operations, after having received several reports of leaks from dry-disconnect couplings during bunkering. SGMF says that differential movements between the bunkering vessel and the receiving vessel can cause leaks at the sealing face of the coupling.

While all reported cases have been detected and dealt with safely, there is the potential for a more serious accident. SGMF says that care needs to be taken to ensure that couplings are not overloaded during bunkering operations and recommends that equipment is properly supported throughout the transfer operation. More details can be found on the SGMF website at www.sgmf. info/posts.