CHEMICAL PLANT SAFETY: OSHA rule addresses industry concerns

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has published the final form of its process safety management standard—expected to significantly reduce catastrophic fires and explosions at chemical facilities. Every facility covered must be in compliance by May 1997, following a five-year phase-in period. The new standard, proposed in July 1990, is one of the most comprehensive regulations ever implemented by the agency. It will cover some 25,000 facilities and 3 million workers, including 650,000 contract workers. The standard integrates technologies, procedures, and management practices so companies can develop safety strategies that effectively address their specific processes and that prevent releases of flammable gases and liquids, explosives, and pyrotechnics, notes acting OSHA chief Dorothy L. Strunk. OSHA estimates full implementation of the rule will reduce the risk of catastrophic fires and explosions 80%, saving 264 lives and preventing more than 1500 injuries annually. Both the industri...