In This Edition: (Click on Bullet to Jump to Story)

  EPA News:  EPA Discloses OMB is Developing Chemical Site Security Regulations

  OSHA News:  Henshaw Celebrates 20 Years of VPP

  CSB News:  CSB Released Results of Reactives Hazard Investigation

   Industry Focus:   
          1.  PSM Interpretations - Hot Work Permits

    Resources:  
           1.   Motiva Investigation Report Available Online 

           2.   US HHS Releases New Guidelines Protecting Ventilation Systems

  Incident News:  
           1.   Monthly Summary of Incidents, July 20 - September 20, 2002

  Events Update:  
           1.   AIChE Annual Meeting, November 3-8, 2002 Indianapolis, IN.

   Other:  

           1.   AcuTech Offers Courses and Services in Crisis Management & Plant Security Vulnerability Assessment

           2.   AcuTech to Host Process Safety Classes in Singapore

EPA Discloses OMB is Developing Chemical Site Security Regulations
Ms. Deborah Dietrich, Director, Chemical Emergency Preparedness Prevention Office, U.S. EPA, reported that the Office of Management and Budget was in process of developing “bipartisan” regulations to address the security of chemical sites to terrorist attack. She revealed during a luncheon speech before the AIChE/CCPS International Conference and Workshop in Jacksonville, Florida, on October 9th that the regulations were not yet released for public comment but would likely involve three areas: 1) the need to conduct a security vulnerability analysis; 2) the need to implement additional countermeasures as required, and 3) the need to coordinate the results of the analysis with local law enforcement and first responders. This development may mean that proposed legislation sponsored by Senator John Corzine of New Jersey (S.1602) may be in jeopardy, and that this proposed legislation will ultimately prevail.

Read this complete AcuSafe Feature at http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0902NewsOMB.htm

Henshaw Celebrates 20 Years of VPP
In a speech presented to the VPPPA 18th Annual Conference, OSHA Assistant Secretary John Henshaw praised the progress of the VPP program and outlined steps for the future of the program. Mr. Henshaw noted that there are only 850 VPP sites in the US and that the future of the program depends on increasing VPP participation.

 For full text of Mr. Henshaw's Speech, click here or go to the OSHA Website at: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=SPEECHES&p_id=585&p_text_version=FALSE

CSB Released Results of Reactives Hazard Investigation
On August 24, 2000 the CSB approved an investigative report on the April 1998 explosion at the Morton Specialty Chemical's (now Rohm and Haas) Paterson, New Jersey facility. As a result of this incident, the CSB instigated an investigation into reactive chemicals and the hazards of handing, processing, or manufacturing such chemicals.  For the first time the Board called on OSHA and EPA to extend their process safety regulations - known as the Process Safety Management standard and the Risk Management Program rule - to better control hazards associated with chemical reactivity. Under the terms of the Clean Air Act, OSHA and EPA must respond within no more than 180 days to the Board's recommendations.

Full text of this press release can be found at:  http://www.chemsafety.gov/news/2002/n20020904.htm 

PSM Interpretations - Hot Work Permits
AcuSafe presents the eleventh installment in a series of feature articles entitled "PSM Interpretations."  In this edition of AcuSafe News, we present a series of interpretations regarding applicability and interpretations surrounding Hot Work Permits.   This feature is meant to provide some interesting or misunderstood points within Hot Work Permitting programs

Find this AcuSafe feature at  http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0902NewsPart11Interpretations.htm.

Motiva Incident Investigation Report Available Online
CSB has made the incident investigation from the Motiva tank fire available from its website. The incident involved maintenance activities on a sulfuric acid tank, when a spark from their hot work ignited flammable vapors in one of the storage tanks. The tank separated from its floor, instantaneously releasing its contents. The report focuses on mechanical integrity, engineering management, management of change, and hot work systems.

Full text of the investigation, including photos and illustrations, is available from the CSB website at: http://www.chemsafety.gov/news/2002/docs/DS-MotivaIR-090602.pdf

US HHS Releases New Guidelines Protecting Ventilation Systems
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today released new guidelines for protecting ventilation systems in commercial and government buildings from chemical, biological and radiological attacks. The guidelines provide recommendations that address the physical security of ventilation systems, airflow and filtration, systems maintenance, program administration and maintenance staff training. 

For full text of this HHS press release, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhs-ventrel.html

Monthly Summary of Incidents, July 20, 2002 - September 20, 2002
We collect stories about major spills and releases from around the globe. This month's installment (http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/0902News-MonthlyIncidents.htm) summarizes a total of 28 incidents brought to our attention between July 21, 2002 and September 20, 2002. Most of the incidents covered have caused significant injury, deaths, or major property damage. Accidents in China, U.K.,  Japan, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, Norway, Trinidad, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, India, Germany, Greece,  and the U.S. are represented.  We welcome input to this effort by submitting summaries of other notable events to editor@acusafe.com.

For course details and a registration form, go to 
http://www.acusafe.com/Newsletter/Stories/ATI Security Courses 2002.pdf  

For course details and a registration form, go to 
http://www.acutech-consulting.com/training/ATI%20-%20Asia%202002%20Schedule.pdf