The Workplace Safety blog includes safety articles on a wide range of occupational health and safety topics. Search our safety articles by category or by keyword. Please contact Jon Wallace by email or phone (919.933.5548) with questions or comments.
Details are still emerging regarding yesterday's (April 17, 2018) explosion at a fertilizer facility. Fertilizer (ammonium nitrate) is highly explosive. click here for more details. In addition, a fire occurred with my previous employer, ExxonMobil at their Beaumont,...
During my NFPA 70E seminars and while working with clients, a constant concern I hear is unqualified workers entering both the arc flash and approach (shock) boundaries. Production supervisors; other employees; and in academia, students, are notorious for entering the...
Many severe electric arc incidents occur while qualified employees are racking electrical circuit breakers. Click here to read my article on the potential hazard while racking circuit breakers. Whenever feasible, it is always a best practice to remotely rack...
A common complaint I receive concerning arc-rated faceshields is the dark tint. Qualified employees complain this reduces their visibility while performing work on energized electrical conductors. BSD has recently manufactured a clear faceshield. According to Thomas...
As a result of the recently revised OSHA Hazard Communication standard, 1910.106 was revised on March 26, 2012. Previously, 1910.106 used the term combustible liquid and flammable liquid. However, the revised standard only uses the term flammable liquid. Flammable...
The August 6, 2012 fire at Chevron's Richmond, California refinery is likely to result in increased OSHA enforcement of their process safety management (PSM) standard. Although OSHA has no enforcement authority in Venezuela, the August 25, 2012 Venezuela Amuay...
Jon Wallace was interviewed by WRAL on July 25, 2012 as President of the Glenmere Homeowners Association after a severe storm.
During a recent NFPA 70E course for an aviation company, the client asked if any manufacturer sold high amperage load rated break plugs. Meltric provides load rated break plugs up to at least 200 amps. Also, if you need a higher voltage GFCI unit, Lind Corporation...
The removal and reinstallation of bolted on dead front covers poses a significant potential for an electric arc as well as the potential to inadvertently trip one or more circuit breakers. One method to minimize this risk is as each dead front screw is removed - ...
Since the 2012 Edition of NFPA 70E has been issued, I've had very strong demand for my one day course - having taught five courses in three months. I'm offering an open enrollment course on March 30, 2012 at our office in Greensboro, North Carolina. Please click here...