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Health and Safety
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| Keywords: Manufacturing, refineries, power plants,
factories, automation, industrial workplace, shop floor, safety, OSHA, risks, insurance,
explosions, chemical safety, environmental hazards, embedded, Health and safety. |
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
- OSHA
Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board
- Chemical Safety - - Y2K and Chemical Safety
- CSB - PIPELINE SAFETY ADVISORY
BULLETIN ADVISORY BULLETIN: ADB-99-03 Date: July 7, 1999
- The Office of Pipeline Safety, U.S. Department of Transportation, has issued a Pipeline
Safety Advisory Bulletin following a June incident in Washington State which claimed three
lives.
- Potential Service Interruptions in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
Systems - During an Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) investigation of a recent
pipeline incident, OPS inspectors identified inadequate SCADA performance as an
operational safety concern. Immediately prior to and during the incident, the SCADA system
exhibited poor performance that inhibited the pipeline controllers from seeing and
reacting to the development of an abnormal pipeline operation. Preliminary review of
the SCADA system indicates that the processor load (a measure of computer performance
utilization) was at 65 to 70 percent during normal operations. Immediately prior to an
upset condition occurring on the pipeline, the SCADA encountered an internal database
error. The system attempted to reconcile the problem at the expense of other processing
tasks. The database error, coupled with the increased data processing burden of the upset
condition, hampered controller operations. In fact, key operator command functions were
unable to be processed immediately prior to and during the abnormal operation. It is
possible that post installation modifications may have hampered the system's ability to
function appropriately. The combination of the database error, the inadequate reserve
capacity of the SCADA processor, and the unusually dynamic changes that occurred during
the upset condition, appear to have combined and temporarily overburdened the SCADA
computer system. This may have prevented the pipeline controllers from reacting and
controlling the upset condition on their pipeline as promptly as would have been expected.
For further information, contact Chris Hoidal, Director, OPS Western Region at
303-231-5701.
- General
Issues
- Process
Control and Instrumentation Vendor Web Sites
- Chemical Safety Board Presents
Y2K Report to Senate Special Committee
- Governors Urged to Prepare for
Possible Y2K-related Hazardous Materials Problems
- CSB - Chemical Safety Board
Participates in Senate Special Committee Y2K Field Hearing
Mine Safety and Health Administration
USDOL, Office of the Chief
Information Officer
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety
(IFCS) - Y2K Introduction
- IFCS Advisory - Year 2000 Problem
- ISG3 Issues a World-Wide Advisory
Concerning Chemical Safety Issues Related To The Y2K Computer Failure Problem:
- The Third Meeting of the Intersessional
Group (ISG3) of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety, met 1-4 December 1998
in Yokohama, Japan. ISG3 considered the Year 2000 (Y2K) computer failure problem. Unless
properly addressed, the Y2K problem poses significant world-wide chemical safety problems.
Industry and governments should assume responsibilities for managing this issue to ensure
the safe operation of chemical installations.
- The Computer year 2000 problem, unless properly addressed, poses significant world-wide
chemical safety problems. Nations and organizations are at various stages of dealing with
the issue. Relevant available information should be shared regarding steps which have been
taken and which should be taken, and contingency plans developed to reduce the potential
adverse impacts to health and safety. In the chemical manufacturing area much has already
been done by governments and industry, but there are gaps, most particularly in small- and
medium-sized companies, and governments. Much effort should be directed towards embedded
systems which include alarm systems, computer motherboards, system controls, lighting
controls, process controllers, pumps, refrigeration controls, and valves.
- The need is manifest to establish health and safety protection as the highest priority.
In addition to continuing or initiating actions to prevent failures, all governments and
organizations dealing with the problem are encouraged to develop contingency planning,
including, where appropriate, manual override systems to deal with various types of
failures. The ISG 3 takes note of the statement of the OECD Working Group on Chemical
Accidents which "agreed that both industry and governments must assume responsibility
for the safe operation of chemical installations: governments must alert industry to
possible problems; industry must self-police its hazardous chemical installations; and
governments must be prepared to act immediately when notified of specific problems"
and encourages utilization of the recently established OECD Electronic Information Clearing House
on Chemical Emergencies. Linkages will be established on the IFCS website (http://www.ifcs.ch ) to guide all concerned governments and
organizations to information relevant to dealing with the problem.
National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) - Y2K Surveillance Project
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health
and Safety (CCOHS)
European Commission, European Agency
for Safety and Health at Work
Health and Safety
Executive, United Kingdom,
Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Committee on Communications and Information Policy,
- IEEE Year 2000 Standards-PASC
Information - as a public service, the IEEE Standards Association is providing
download access to these standards as either approved drafts or in their final form at no
charge.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Year 2000 Internet Website
- What is the Y2K Problem?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Y2K News and Announcements
- http://www.epa.gov/ceppo - CEPPO Alert - Prevent Year 2000 Chemical
Emergencies (PDF Version)
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing this Alert as part of its ongoing
effort to protect human health and the environment by preventing chemical accidents.
Alerts are issued when EPA becomes aware of a significant hazard. It is important that
facilities, State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs), Local Emergency Planning
Committees (LEPCs), emergency responders and others review this information and take
appropriate steps to minimize risk. The Alert is targeted at the chemical process industry
to increase awareness of the potential for chemical safety problems due to upcoming date
changes.
- At any size company, the Y2K issue could threaten worker and community safety and
health. It could cause complete shutdowns of machinery or safety-related systems or could
generate erroneous information (e.g., wrong temperature) which could lead an operator to
take unsafe or improper steps. For chemical process industries, the Y2K problem could
increase the potential for process shutdowns and accidental chemical releases.
- Even if your operations do not directly use comput-ers, some of your control machinery,
process equip-ment, automation equipment (e.g., valves, pumps), and emergency protection
equipment (e.g., fire and gas detectors), may be embedded with computer chips that are
date-sensitive. If these chips misun-derstand the date change, the equipment could fail or
malfunction, causing process upsets that lead to accidents. For example, an automatic
valve with an embedded chip could fail in such a way that the valve turns off the
feedstock supply. Because Y2K problems can affect so many devices, cascading failures are
possible.
- Test systems. Your systems and equipment should be tested to make sure
the Y2K malfunction is reme-died. Do not forget to test dates other than January 1, 2000
(see the “Dates to Watch” box). Before you test, alert local emergency officials
and make sure your employees and community are prepared for any possible failures that may
have an adverse effect on health and safety or the environment. (See EPA’s new
enforcement policy on Y2K testing in section “It’s Your Duty”).
- Under the General Duty Clause of the Clean Air Act (CAA section 112(r)(1)),
owners and operators of facilities with hazardous substances have a general duty to
prevent and mitigate accidental releases, including those caused by Y2K failures. Also,
under EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP) Rules (CAA section 112(r)(7)), accidental
release scenarios related to Y2K problems (e.g., loss of utilities, interruption of raw
material deliveries, failure of monitoring devices) would be reasonable alternative
scenarios to consider. The public may view any Y2K-related operating problems that occur
in January 2000 as a test of the quality and reliability of your RMP. In addition, EPA has
initiated an enforcement policy designed to encourage prompt testing of
computer-related equipment to ensure that environmental compliance is not impaired by the
Y2K computer bug. Under this policy, EPA intends to waive 100% of the civil penalties and
recommend against criminal prosecution for environmental violations caused by tests
designed to identify and eliminate the Y2K-related malfunctions. This policy is limited
and subject to certain conditions. (See complete policy on EPA’s Year 2000 web site
listed in “Information Resources.”)
- The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) has a similar General Duty Clause
(section 5(a)(1)) for protection of employees from hazardous situations involving
the use of highly hazardous substances. Also, OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM)
Standard is intended to prevent or minimize injury to employees from accidents (including
those caused by Y2K problems) involving highly hazardous chemicals.
- EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Y2K information. http://clu-in.com/y2k.htm
- EPA’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office (CEPPO) has this Y2K
alert and updates. http://www.epa.gov/ceppo
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) The OSHA web site has a bulletin on
Y2K. http://www.osha.gov/Y2knews.pdf
- Examples of Equipment to Check:
- Controllers - Alarms - Lighting - Robots - Air monitoring/leak detection devices -
Hazard communication databases - Underground storage tank monitors - Security systems -
Generators - Lab instruments - Environmental control systems - Controllers for
refrigeration, valves, pumps, sensors and analyzers - Programmable control systems -
Safety shutdown systems - Fire detection systems - Explosion suppression systems -
Elevators - Conveyors - Vehicles
- Public Health-Environmental Impacts and
Outreach Activities
The U.S. EPA's Chemical Emergency
Preparedness and Prevention Office
EPA: Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response Home page
novay2k links
Y2K and the Chemical Industry
OECD: National
Government-official Y2K links
Y2K Consumer Issues- Home &
Community
Mintz.com: Y2K and
Environmental Regulation
y2kbase.com: United States
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
ind-com.state.ut.us: Utah
Occupational Safety and Health (UOSH)
Family.org: Y2K Update-
May 1999
Glitch in Y2K Test Causes Spill Of
Raw Sewage Into City Park
Oil, gas industries still
working on Y2K issues
KeySpan
and LIPA Announce Y2K Readiness
State of Connecticut, Department
of Information Technology Year 2000 Program Office, Embedded Systems
MountainView Software Corporation Year 2000
Compliance Statement - MountainView Software Corporation certifies that Workers
Companion version 3.00 and higher are Year 2000 Compliant in all respects and in all
modules, and will function as intended after January 1, 2000 Download Y2K Statement
The Institute of Business Appraisers -
Websites
ESS - Employee and Safety System -
The software performs Workers Compensation Case management for injuries and illnesses. ESS
is open and modular. It can easily be customized to incorporate company-specific
enhancements. The Client/Server software generates extensive ad-hoc and user defined
reports that are compatible with OSHA data format. The software captures the
following data: Employee, Wages, Hours of Exposure, Injury / Illness, Payroll, Vehicle
Accident, Cases, Insurer, Administrator, Risk Group, Equipment, Accident Type, Body Parts,
SIC Codes, Contractor Accident, Cause Codes, Injury/illness Codes, Injury Source Codes,
etc.
NAMP The North American Meat Processors
Association is a non-profit trade association comprised of meat processing companies and
associates who share a continuing commitment to provide their foodservice customers with
reliable and consistent meat, poultry, seafood, game and other food products. The
Association, which was founded in 1942, has member companies both large and small
throughout the United States, Canada and other parts of the world. The organization is
best known by its acronym, NAMP, and is universally recognized for its world renowned
publication, The Meat
Buyers Guide.
[http://www.TheInternetFoundation.Org/foot-tif.htm]