4 entries found for "November, 2025"
Are U.S. Refinery Incidents Increasing? A Clearer Look at the Data, the Debate, and When the Trend Began
by Michael Hurley, 11/26/2025
Tags: Mechanical Integrity Regulation Risk Management
Public data suggests U.S. refinery fires and explosions have increased significantly since 2018, with some analyses showing a tripling of incidents. However, industry process safety metrics indicate improvement. This article explores the evidence, why the datasets conflict, and the start of the upward trend.
Why We Still See Refinery Fires - More Than 30 Years After OSHA 1910.119
by Michael Hurley, 11/20/2025
Tags: HSE Process Safety Management Regulation Risk Management
Despite OSHA's 1992 Process Safety Management (PSM) standard, refinery and chemical plant fires continue to make headlines. This post breaks down the seven systemic reasons why these incidents persist. We explore how mere compliance, aging infrastructure, weak safety culture, and reactive risk management prevent the elimination of catastrophic risks.
PHMSA vs OSHA for Hydrocarbon Facilities
by Michael Hurley, 11/12/2025
Tags: Mechanical Integrity Process Safety Management Regulation
Hydrocarbon facilities in the U.S. frequently face overlapping regulation from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). While PHMSA primarily governs transportation safety via pipelines (49 CFR 190-199), OSHA focuses on worker safety and health within facilities, including Process Safety Management (PSM). This post clarifies their distinct scopes, common jurisdictional boundaries (e.g., at the first valve inside a facility), and provides tips for operators to integrate their compliance programs.
Why Moving to RBI Makes Sense - No Matter Where You Start
by Michael Hurley, 11/5/2025
Tags: Mechanical Integrity Process Safety Management Risk Based Inspection Risk Management
Discover how transitioning to a Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) approach can deliver real value and significant cost savings over traditional time/condition-based Mechanical Integrity (MI) programs. We use a simple 100-vessel example to show a potential $645,000 savings per inspection cycle and discuss how RBI accelerates compliance and prioritizes safety-critical tasks.
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