Process Safety with Trish & Traci

On a sunny summer day in 2007 near Wichita, Kansas, a tanker truck was offloading naphthalene into a stainless-steel tank at a solvent tank farm when the container spontaneously ignited, catching fire and exploding, shooting projectiles in the air. This led to the evacuation of thousands in a nearby community. While there were no casualties, the explosion destroyed the entire storage facility, luc...

Risk assessment should still be a manual process, but AI can streamline data collection to enable sound engineering judgments. In this episode,  Trish and Traci welcome guest Dheerajkumar Narang, whose research examines how AI and machine learning can enhance process safety compliance. Traditional compliance methods are time-consuming and fragmented across different systems, while AI can automate...

In this episode, Trish and Traci discuss the catastrophic failure at Queensland's Callide Power Station C4 on May 25, 2021, which caused power outages for 470,000 people.  During a routine switching operation to replace DC battery systems, a voltage drop was misinterpreted as an AC fault, triggering a cascading failure. Both AC and DC systems failed, leaving the turbine without lubrication while i...

This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written word to life. Today, Trish Kerin, the director of Lead Like Kerin, and Stay Safe columnist for Chemical Processing, will read her column “Wield Questions to Learn and Teach”  “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back.” – A proverb made modern by Eugene O’Neill. Have you ever asked a question at work and were surprised by the...

Remembering the human toll of Texas City and Deepwater Horizon and applying those lessons learned can prevent similar tragedies. In this episode, Trish and Traci discuss two major BP incidents: the 2005 Texas City Refinery explosion that killed 15 workers when an overfilled tower created a geyser of hot raffinate that ignited, and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers and cau...

Have you ever done a double-take when looking at an inspection photograph? I certainly did when an engineer at a valve manufacturer sent me an inspection photograph and asked, “See anything wrong with this picture?” “Yeah,” I replied. Someone had installed two expansion relief valves back-to-back on the body bleed of a twin-seated plug valve used for isolation in our gasoline tank farm. The valve...

In this podcast, Trish and Traci discuss the importance of storytelling in process safety. Trish shares two influential stories from her career and personal life. She outlines effective storytelling using the "four Cs": context, conflict, conclusion, and call to action. She emphasizes starting with a memorable moment to engage audiences, matching tone to content gravity, and personalizing stories.

Welcome to the In Case You Missed It edition of Process Safety with Trish and Traci -- the podcast that aims to share insights from past incidents to help avoid future events.  This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written word to life. Today, Trish Kerin, the director of Lead Like Kerin and Stay Safe columnist for Chemical Processing will read her column “ An Engineer’s Process Safety Evo...

A former Formula One engineer has developed an AI copilot that can suggest questions, reference incident databases and provide support. But don’t worry,  humans still have the last word.

Safety experts share strategies to revitalize job hazard analysis programs. A piece of paper won’t save your life, but what’s on that paper could.   Trish and Traci, along with guest Valerie Stakes, discuss five steps to improve job hazard analysis (JHA) programs: honest program evaluation, form clarity, embedding JHAs in other documents, improved training and increasing visibility through collabo...

We’ve extracted a few gems from the 2024 season of Process Safety with Trish & Traci. Listen in as we discuss recurring accidents, emergency systems and organizational learning.

This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written word to life. Today, Trish Kerin, Chemical Processing’s Stay Safe columnist, will read her column “Process Safety Lessons from Bhopal 40 Years Later” Written By: Trish Kerin Read By: Trish Kerin  Read Article 

The Bhopal tragedy of 1984 at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in India killed thousands of people. The incident resulted from multiple safety failures: contaminated methyl isocyanate (MIC) storage, disabled safety systems and poor plant management. It led to significant changes in process safety, including the development of OSHA's Process Safety Management standard, the Center for Chemical Proces...

In this episode, Trish and Traci discuss the 1984 Mexico City LPG disaster in Mexico, where a pipe burst at a Pemex facility. This led to a massive explosion equivalent to five Hiroshima bombs. A combination of factors, including poor management of change, inadequate fireproofing and proximity to residential areas, resulted in 500 deaths. Key lessons included the importance of proper land use plan...

Chemical Processing recently hosted a webinar on the importance of process safety during transient operations. Normal operations include continuous and batch processes, while abnormal situations involve plant upsets or deviations from typical parameters. Loss of control can lead to unscheduled shutdowns, and emergency situations may require immediate action. For all scenarios, proper instrumentati...

Welcome to the In Case You Missed It edition of Process Safety with Trish and Traci -- the podcast that aims to share insights from past incidents to help avoid future events. I’m Traci Purdum, EIC of Chemical Processing. Please subscribe to this free podcast on your favorite platform to continue learning with Trish & me in this series. This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written wor...

On the 35th anniversary of the deadly event we examine how routine maintenance can go horribly wrong.

Welcome to the In Case You Missed It edition of Process Safety with Trish and Traci -- the podcast that aims to share insights from past incidents to help avoid future events. I’m Traci Purdum, EIC of Chemical Processing. This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written word to life. Today, I will be reading a column by our editor at large Sean Ottewell “Safety Lessons from the Great Molasses...

In this episode of Process Safety with Trish and Traci we interview Fiona Erskine, an engineer and crime novelist who has a passion for process safety. Fiona discusses balancing her engineering career with writing and how she uses her novels to educate readers about process safety and engineering concepts. Her Dr. Jaq Silver series combines thrilling plots with accurate technical details, making c...

Our tendency to underestimate the likelihood of rare occurrences can lead us to dismiss the possibility of process safety incidents. This In Case You Missed It episode brings the written word to life. Today, Trish Kerin, the director of IChemE Safety Centre and Stay Safe columnist for Chemical Processing, will read her column “It’s Not Impossible That It’s Possible” Written By: Trish Kerin Read By...

The standard's industry-agnostic approach, its potential to influence global PSM practices and its role in setting benchmarks for organizations not covered by traditional legislation will impact safety practices worldwide. In this episode, Trish & Traci discuss the Canadian Process Safety Management (PSM) standard CSA Z767, the world's first national PSM standard. Adrian Pierorazio and Parnian...

The plant floor at the West Pharmaceuticals facility in Kingston, N.C., was kept spotless to meet hygiene requirements. However, combustible polyethylene dust accumulated in the suspended ceiling. This led to a dust explosion on January 29, 2003, that killed six workers, injured 38, and destroyed the plant. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) couldn’t identify the ignitio...

Control system failures, alarm floods, maintenance issues and emergency response factored into this non-deadly incident.

In this guest podcast episode from our sister publication Processing , Senior Editor Nate Todd interviews Chris Cloney of Dust Safety Science. In this episode, we discover that awareness of dust hazards varies globally, often spiking after major incidents but waning over time. The company tracks dust-related incidents annually, noting significant events like the 2023 grain silo explosion in Brazil...

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board identified five issues with the 2019 Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery fire and explosion: mechanical integrity, outdated equipment, lack of remote emergency isolation valves, safeguard reliability and the need for inherently safer design. https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/podcast/process-safety-with-trish-and-traci