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U.S. Department of Labor | |
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| Occupational Safety & Health Administration | ||||||
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| Construction > Construction Outreach TOC > Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals (§1926.64) |
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Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals (§1926.64) |
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THE PROBLEM  Unexpected releases of toxic, reactive, or flammable liquids and gases in processes involving highly hazardous chemicals have been reported for many years. Incidents continue to occur in various industries that use highly hazardous chemicals which may be toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive, or may exhibit a combination of these properties. Regardless of the industry that uses these highly hazardous chemicals, there is a potential for an accidental release any time they are not properly controlled. This, in turn, creates the possibility of disaster.
Recent major disasters include the 1984 Bhopal, India, incident resulting in more than 2,000 deaths; the October 1989 Phillips Petroleum Company, Pasadena, TX, incident resulting in 23 deaths and 132 injuries; the July 1990 BASF, Cincinnati, OH, incident resulting in 2 deaths, and the May 1991 IMC, Sterlington, LA, incident resulting in 8 deaths and 128 injuries. Although these major disasters involving highly hazardous chemicals drew national attention to the potential for major catastrophes, the public record is replete with information concerning many other less notable releases of highly hazardous chemicals. Hazardous chemical releases continue to pose a significant threat to employees and provide impetus, internationally and nationally, for authorities to develop or consider developing legislation and regulations to eliminate or minimize the potential for such events. On July 17, 1990, OSHA published in the Federal Register (55 FR 29150) a proposed standard, - "Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals" - containing requirements for the management of hazards associated with processes using highly hazardous chemicals to help assure safe and healthful workplaces. OSHA's proposed standard emphasized the management of hazards associated with highly hazardous chemicals and established a comprehensive management program that integrated technologies, procedures, and management practices. The notice of proposed rulemaking invited comments on any aspect of the proposed standard for process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals and announced the scheduling of a hearing to begin on November 27, 1990, in Washington, DC. On November 1, 1990, OSHA published a Federal Register notice (55 FR 46074) scheduling a second hearing to begin on February 26, 1991, in Houston, TX, enumerating additional issues, and extending the written comment period until January 22, 1991. The hearings on the proposed standard were held in Washington, DC, from November 27, 1990, through December 4, 1990, and in Houston, TX, from February 26, 1991, through March 7, 1991. The Administrative Law Judge presiding at the hearings allowed participants to submit post-hearing comments until May 6, 1991, and file post-hearing briefs until June 5, 1991. OSHA received more than 175 comments in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking. In addition to these comments, the hearings resulted in almost 4,000 pages of testimony and almost 60 post-hearing comments and briefs. State plan States, approved under section 18(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 must adopt standards and enforce requirements which are at least as effective as Federal requirements. There are currently 25 State plan States; 23 covering private and public (State and local government) sectors and two covering public sector only. Plan States must adopt comparable standards to the Federal within 6 months of a Federal standard's promulgation. Approximately 4 months after the publication of OSHA's proposed standard for process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals, the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) were enacted into law (November 15, 1990). Section 304 of the CAAA requires that the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), promulgate, pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Heath Act of 1970, a chemical process safety standard to prevent accidental releases of chemicals that could pose a threat to employees. The CAAA require that the standard include a list of highly hazardous chemicals which includes toxic, flammable, highly reactive, and explosive substances. The CAAA also specified minimum elements that the OSHA standard must require employers to do, as follows:
HOW THE STANDARD WORKS This discussion summarizes the OSHA final process safety management (PSM) standard. The standard mainly applies to manufacturing industries - particularly, those pertaining to chemicals, transportation equipment, and fabricated metal products. Other affected sectors include natural gas liquids; farm product warehousing; electric, gas, and sanitary services; and wholesale trade. It also applies to pyrotechnics and explosives manufacturers covered under other OSHA rules and has special provisions for contractors working in covered facilities. In each industry, PSM applies to those companies that deal with any of more than 130 specific toxic and reactive chemicals in listed quantities; it also includes flammable liquids and gases in quantities of 10,000 pounds (4,535.9 Kg) or more. Subject to the rules and procedures set forth in OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard [29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1926.59(i)(1) through 1926.59(i)(12)], employees and their designated representatives must be given access to trade secret information contained within the process hazard analysis and other documents required to be developed by the PSM standard. The key provision of PSM is process hazard analysis - a careful review of what could go wrong and what safeguards must be implemented to prevent releases of hazardous chemicals. Covered employers must identify those processes that pose the greatest risks and begin evaluating those first. PHA's must be completed as soon as possible. At least one-quarter of the processes must be evaluated by May 26, 1994, with an additional 25 percent completed each following year so that by May 26, 1997, if not sooner, employers will have evaluated all affected processes. PSM clarifies the responsibilities of employers and contractors involved in work that affects or takes place near covered processes to ensure that the safety of both plant and contractor employees is considered. The standard also mandates written operating procedures; employee training; prestartup safety reviews; evaluation of mechanical integrity of critical equipment; and written procedures for managing change. PSM specifies a permit system for hot work; investigation of incidents involving releases or near misses of covered chemicals; emergency action plans; compliance audits at least every 3 years; and trade secret protection. To understand PSM and its requirements, employers and employees need to understand how OSHA uses the term "process" in PSM. Process means any activity involving a highly hazardous chemical including using, storing, manufacturing, handling, or moving such chemicals at the site, or any combination of these activities. For purposes of this definition, any group of vessels that are interconnected, and separate vessels located in a way that could involve a highly hazardous chemical in a potential release, are considered a single process. PROCESS SAFETY INFORMATION Employers must complete a compilation of written process safety information before conducting any process hazard analysis required by the standard. The compilation of written process safety information, completed under the same schedule required for process hazard analyses, will help the employer and the employees involved in operating the process to identify and understand the hazards posed by those processes involving highly hazardous chemicals. Process safety information must include information on the hazards of the highly hazardous chemicals used or produced by the process, information on the technology of the process, and information on the equipment in the process. Information on the hazards of the highly hazardous chemicals in the process shall consist of at least the following(1):
Information on the equipment in the process must include the following:
The compilation of the above described process safety information provides the basis for identifying and understanding the hazards of a process and is necessary in developing the process hazard analysis and may be necessary for complying with other provisions of PSM such as management of change and incident investigations. PROCESS HAZARD ANALYSIS The process hazard analysis is a thorough, orderly, systematic approach for identifying, evaluating, and controlling the hazards of processes involving highly hazardous chemicals. The employer must perform an initial process hazard analysis (hazard evaluation) on all processes covered by this standard. The process hazard analysis methodology selected must be appropriate to the complexity of the process and must identify, evaluate, and control the hazards involved in the process. First, employers must determine and document the priority order for conducting process hazard analyses based on a rationale that includes such considerations as the extent of the process hazards, the number of potentially affected employees, the age of the process, and the operating history of the process. All initial process hazard analyses should be conducted as soon as possible, but at a minimum, the employer must complete no fewer than 25 percent by May 26, 1994; 50 percent by May 26, 1995; 75 percent by May 26, 1996; and all initial process hazard analyses by May 26, 1997. Where there is only one process in a workplace, the analysis must be completed by May 26, 1994. Process hazard analyses completed after May 26, 1987, that meet the requirements of the PSM standard are acceptable as initial process hazard analyses. All process hazard analyses must be updated and revalidated, based on their completion date, at least every 5 years. The employer must use one or more of the following methods, as appropriate, to determine and evaluate the hazards of the process being analyzed:
The employer must establish a system to address promptly the team's findings and recommendations; ensure that the recommendations are resolved in a timely manner and that the resolutions are documented; document what actions are to be taken; develop a written schedule of when these actions are to be completed; complete actions as soon as possible; and communicate the actions to operating, maintenance, and other employees whose work assignments are in the process and who may be affected by the recommendations or actions. At least every 5 years after the completion of the initial process hazard analysis, the process hazard analysis must be updated and revalidated by a team meeting the standard's requirements to ensure that the hazard analysis is consistent with the current process. Employers must keep on file and make available to OSHA, on request, process hazard analyses and updates or revalidation for each process covered by PSM, as well as the documented resolution of recommendations, for the life of the process. OPERATING PROCEDURES The employer must develop and implement written operating procedures, consistent with the process safety information, that provide clear instructions for safely conducting activities involved in each covered process. OSHA believes that tasks and procedures related to the covered process must be appropriate, clear, consistent, and most importantly, well communicated to employees. The procedures must address at least the following elements: Steps for each operating phase:
The employer must develop and implement safe work practices to provide for the control of hazards during work activities such as lockout/tagout; confined space entry; opening process equipment or piping; and control over entrance into a facility by maintenance, contractor, laboratory, or other support personnel. These safe work practices must apply both to employees and to contractor employees. EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION Employers must develop a written plan of action to implement the employee participation required by PSM. Under PSM, employers must consult with employees and their representatives on the conduct and development of process hazard analyses and on the development of the other elements of process management, and they must provide to employees and their representatives access to process hazard analyses and to all other information required to be developed by the standard. TRAINING Initial Training OSHA believes that the implementation of an effective training program is one of the most important steps that an employer can take to enhance employee safety. Accordingly, PSM requires that each employee presently involved in operating a process or a newly assigned process must be trained in an overview of the process and in its operating procedures. The training must include emphasis on the specific safety and health hazards of the process, emergency operations including shutdown, and other safe work practices that apply to the employee's job tasks. Those employees already involved in operating a process on the PSM effective date do not necessarily need to be given initial training. Instead, the employer may certify in writing that the employees have the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to safely carry out the duties and responsibilities specified in the operating procedures. Refresher Training Refresher training must be provided at least every 3 years, or more often if necessary, to each employee involved in operating a process to ensure that the employee understands and adheres to the current operating procedures of the process. The employer, in consultation with the employees involved in operating the process, must determine the appropriate frequency of refresher training. Training Documentation The employer must determine whether each employee operating a process has received and understood the training required by PSM. A record must be kept containing the identity of the employee, the date of training, and how the employer verified that the employee understood the training. CONTRACTORS Application Many categories of contract labor may be present at a jobsite; such workers may actually operate the facility or do only a particular aspect of a job because they have specialized knowledge or skill. Others work only for short periods when there is need for increased staff quickly, such as in turnaround operations. PSM includes special provisions for contractors and their employees to emphasize the importance of everyone taking care that they do nothing to endanger those working nearby who may work for another employer. PSM, therefore, applies to contractors performing maintenance or repair, turnaround, major renovation, or specialty work on or adjacent to a covered process. It does not apply, however, to contractors providing incidental services that do not influence process safety, such as janitorial, food and drink, laundry, delivery, or other supply services. Employer Responsibilities When selecting a contractor, the employer must obtain and evaluate information regarding the contract employer's safety performance and programs. The employer also must inform contract employers of the known potential fire, explosion, or toxic release hazards related to the contractor's work and the process; explain to contract employers the applicable provisions of the emergency action plan; develop and implement safe work practices to control the presence, entrance, and exit of contract employers and contract employees in covered process areas; evaluate periodically the performance of contract employers in fulfilling their obligations; and maintain a contract employee injury and illness log related to the contractor's work in the process areas. Contract Employer Responsibilities The contract employer must:
It is important that a safety review takes place before any highly hazardous chemical is introduced into a process. PSM, therefore, requires the employer to perform a pre-startup safety review for new facilities and for modified facilities when the modification is significant enough to require a change in the process safety information. Prior to the introduction of a highly hazardous chemical to a process, the pre-startup safety review must confirm the following:
OSHA believes it is important to maintain the mechanical integrity of critical process equipment to ensure it is designed and installed correctly and operates properly. PSM mechanical integrity requirements apply to the following equipment:
Inspection and testing must be performed on process equipment, using procedures that follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. The frequency of inspections and tests of process equipment must conform with manufacturers' recommendations and good engineering practices, or more frequently if determined to be necessary by prior operating experience. Each inspection and test on process equipment must be documented, identifying the date of the inspection or test, the name of the person who performed the inspection or test, the serial number or other identifier of the equipment on which the inspection or test was performed, a description of the inspection or test performed, and the results of the inspection or test. Equipment deficiencies outside the acceptable limits defined by the process safety information must be corrected before further use. In some cases, it may not be necessary that deficiencies be corrected before further use, as long as deficiencies are corrected in a safe and timely manner, when other necessary steps are taken to ensure safe operation. In constructing new plants and equipment, the employer must ensure that equipment as it is fabricated is suitable for the process application for which it will be used. Appropriate checks and inspections must be performed to ensure that equipment is installed properly and is consistent with design specifications and the manufacturer's instructions. The employer also must ensure that maintenance materials, spare parts, and equipment are suitable for the process application for which they will be used. HOT WORK PERMIT A permit must be issued for hot work operations conducted on or near a covered process. The permit must document that the fire prevention and protection requirements in OSHA regulations (29 CFR 1926.352) have been implemented prior to beginning the hot work operations; it must indicate the date(s) authorized for hot work; and identify the object on which hot work is to be performed. The permit must be kept on file until completion of the hot work. MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE OSHA believes that contemplated changes to a process must be thoroughly evaluated to fully assess their impact on employee safety and health and to determine needed changes to operating procedures. To this end, the standard contains a section on procedures for managing changes to processes. Written procedures to manage changes (except for "replacements in kind") to process chemicals, technology, equipment, and procedures, and change to facilities that affect a covered process, must be established and implemented. These written procedures must ensure that the following considerations are addressed prior to any change:
INCIDENT INVESTIGATION A crucial part of the process safety management program is a thorough investigation of incidents to identify the chain of events and causes so that corrective measures can be developed and implemented. Accordingly, PSM requires the investigation of each incident that resulted in, or could reasonably have resulted in, a catastrophic release of a highly hazardous chemical in the workplace. Such an incident investigation must be initiated as promptly as possible, but not later than 48 hours following the incident. The investigation must be by a team consisting of at least one person knowledgeable in the process involved, including a contract employee if the incident involved the work of a contractor, and other persons with appropriate knowledge and experience to investigate and analyze the incident thoroughly. An investigation report must be prepared including at least:
EMERGENCY PLANNING AND RESPONSE If, despite the best planning, an incident occurs, it is essential that emergency pre-planning and training make employees aware of, and able to execute, proper actions. For this reason, an emergency action plan for the entire plant must be developed and implemented in accordance with the provisions of other OSHA rules [29 CFR 1926.35(a)]. In addition, the emergency action plan must include procedures for handling small releases of hazardous chemicals. Employers covered under PSM also may be subject to the OSHA hazardous waste and emergency response regulation [29 CFR 1926.65(a), (p), and (q)]. COMPLIANCE AUDITS To be certain process safety management is effective, employers must certify that they have evaluated compliance with the provisions of PSM at least every 3 years. This will verify that the procedures and practices developed under the standard are adequate and are being followed. The compliance audit must be conducted by at least one person knowledgeable in the process and a report of the findings of the audit must be developed and documented noting deficiencies that have been corrected. The two most recent compliance audit reports must be kept on file. TRADE SECRETS Employers must make available all information necessary to comply with PSM to those persons responsible for compiling the process safety information, those developing the process hazard analysis, those responsible for developing the operating procedures, and those performing incident investigations, emergency planning and response, and compliance audits, without regard to the possible trade secret status of such information. Nothing in PSM, however, precludes the employer from requiring those persons to enter into confidentiality agreements not to disclose the information. 1. Note: Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) meeting the requirements of the Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1926.59) may be used to comply with this requirement to the extent they contain the required information. |
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