IIAR

By Lowell Randel, IIAR Government Affairs Director

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a National Emphasis Program (NEP) focused on Process Safety Management in chemical facilities at the end of July 2009. With the NEP pilot now over eight months into its implementation, it is time to examine the program and see what can be learned.

NEP Pilot Program Background

First, it is useful to briefly review the background of the NEP and how it was designed to operate. The NEP was announced as a one year pilot with programmed inspections planned for Federal OSHA states in three OSHA regions: Region 1 (New England – Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island), Region 7 (Midwest – Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska), and Region 10 (Pacific Northwest – Idaho). Facilities participating in the OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs (VPPs) are not subject to programmed NEP inspections.

The NEP is also being used nationwide for Federal OSHA unprogrammed inspections of chemical facilities subject to PSM. State plan states have the option to participate in the pilot. Currently, eight state plan states have formally adopted the NEP. They are: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Washington. There is also anecdotal evidence that additional states have taken parts of the NEP and incorporated them into their ongoing state inspection programs.

Programmed inspections conducted through the pilot program will be unannounced. A team of OSHA inspectors will arrive at the facility and ask to speak with the highest ranking official on site. The inspectors will confirm that the facility is covered under PSM and if so, will begin the inspection. It is worth noting that the OSHA directive establishing the NEP states that for ammonia refrigeration inspections, at least one member of the team must have completed several OSHA Training Institute courses related to PSM and the chemical industry and have prior experience with the chemical industry or ammonia refrigeration. IIAR has been working with the OSHA Training Institute to help ensure that inspectors are better informed about ammonia systems.

OSHA indicates that inspections will place more emphasis on PSM implementation than on the program “on paper.” Inspectors will have a list of approximately 15 questions that will be administered during the inspection. The questions are designed to gather facts related to requirements of the PSM standard, and include guidance for reviewing documents, interviewing employees, and verifying implementation. For ammonia facilities, approximately ten of the questions will focus on ammonia specific PSM components and approximately five questions will address general PSM issues. Inspection questions will not be published, and will change periodically.

Four major types of processes are being targeted for inspection: ammonia refrigeration, chlorine in W&WWT, chemical processing/manufacturing, and other (storage, distribution, etc.) The list of facilities targeted for programmed inspections is drawn from the following four categories: EPA Risk Management Program (RMP) Program 3, NAICS codes known to be PSM but not covered by RMP (limited), facilities identified by local (Area and Regional Office) knowledge, and facilities identified in OSHA’s IMIS database. Facilities are selected randomly from each category, and OSHA’s initial intent was for roughly 25 percent of all inspections to be of ammonia facilities. OSHA anticipates between 70 and 140 programmed inspections will be conducted during the pilot, with an equal number of unprogrammed inspections. As will be shown below, the actual number of inspections conducted by OSHA is lagging well behind these projections.

Current Results of the NEP

Now that the one year pilot program is well over halfway to completion, what can we learn from the results? OSHA Process Safety Engineer Jim Lay participated in the recent IIAR Annual Conference and presented attendees with an update on the results of the NEP pilot. According to Mr. Lay, as of March 16, 2010, OSHA had opened 46 inspections under the NEP. Six of these did not result in a full inspection because the facility was no longer covered by PSM. Of the 40 remaining inspections, 24 were programmed and 16 were unprogrammed. Fifty-eight percent of the programmed inspections were at ammonia facilities, while 38 percent of unprogrammed inspections were at ammonia facilities. When programmed and unprogrammed inspections are combined, ammonia facilities represent 44 percent of all inspections.

It is interesting to note that none of the inspections were at chlorine facilities. This came as a surprise to OSHA, as they had expected roughly 25 percent of inspections to be at chlorine facilities. However, OSHA has since learned that many chlorine facilities have altered their processes and are no longer covered by PSM. This has resulted in a higher than expected percentage of ammonia facilities in the overall total of those being inspected.

NEP inspections have been geographically dispersed across many of the various OSHA regions. It is not surprising that the two regions with the most inspections are Region 1 (New England–14 inspections) and Region 10 (Midwest–7 inspections), both pilot regions. Regions 3 (Mid-Atlantic) and 5 (Upper Midwest) have both conducted 5 NEP inspections. The remaining regions have conducted fewer than five inspections, with Regions 6 and 9 not having conducted any to date.

The average inspection is consuming roughly 100 hours of time for the OSHA teams to complete. By comparison, this total is about 10 percent of the time required by OSHA to conduct inspections under the NEP for Petroleum Refineries. Anecdotally, facilities are also using significantly fewer resources to deal with inspections under the Chemical Facility NEP. Thirteen of the inspections under the Chemical Facilities NEP have closed, resulting in an average of six citations per inspection. On average, 3.5 of the citations issued were related to PSM, resulting in approximately $5300 in penalties per inspection. Facilities should be aware that non-PSM related infractions of OSHA regulations will also be cited during NEP inspections (currently averaging 2.5 out of every 6 citations).

For PSM related citations, the PSM element cited most frequently is “(j) – Mechanical Integrity,” with 13 citations. Elements “(d) Process Safety Information” and “(e) – Process Hazard Analysis” are the second most cited elements, with 9 citations apiece. A detailed breakdown of PSM-related citations and proposed penalties is below.

These results provide some valuable insight into areas where industry can improve its overall safety and compliance.

It is important to remember that safety is good business. This remains true regardless of what happens with the NEP. Facilities are encouraged to revisit their PSM plans to ensure that they are up-to-date and being implemented properly. And, help is available for those who need additional PSM information through IIAR materials, the use of private consultants, and the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program.

OSHA’s plans for the program after the initial pilot period are not yet clear. OSHA has indicated that it will examine the results of the pilot, and take into consideration feedback from industry, while determining whether to transform the NEP into a nationwide program. IIAR will closely monitor the status of the program and continue to communicate with OSHA suggestions and concerns regarding the future of the NEP.