Five tornadoes, including three in Oklahoma City alone, damaged several homes and businesses Sunday. Southeast Oklahoma City sustained the most extensive damages, with one funnel cloud coming perilously close to an elementary school. Although students and staff were never under threat, as the storm moved through the region before classes began Monday morning, the growing…
Chemical incidents invariably exude chaos. Each unexpected chemical emergency begins the same: a surprising discovery of leaking chemicals devolves into pandemonium as hazmat crews spring to action. With fast-breaking news almost conditionalizing the prospect of chemical mishaps nationwide, each critical hazmat emergency can still catch the vigilant off-guard. At the crux of every chemical incident…
Universities are communities within themselves. Ensconced within the walls of high academia, colleges support a network of infrastructure encapsulating intellectual utopias united in a quest for learning and research. While college campuses, idyllically perched amongst manicured landscapes and gothic modern facades, are bastions of intrigue in wastelands bereft of insight, they are not sheltered from…
Oct. 7th-13th is National Fire Prevention Week and Oct. 13th is National Home Fire Drill Day. Did you know October is National Fire Safety Month? Although the autumnal month is better known as, “Spooky Season,” October is a crucial time for fire safety in heavy industries and manufacturing. The Bureau of Labor reported fire as the primary…
Winter is brutal on vulnerable chemical stockpiles. Rapid temperature fluctuations can destabilize sensitive molecular compounds, causing liquid amalgamations to congeal and rendering them useless. Although hazmat flashovers from extreme heat demand more sensational media attention, chemical degradation from the cold compounds logistics and product procurement. While protecting employees and optimizing workflow operations is paramount, product…
Although oil refineries power America’s industrial core, hydrocarbon production centers pose a multitude of risks to employees and surrounding communities. Negligible petroleum operations can produce fires, toxic air pollution, chemical leaks, and inadvertent personnel exposure. While oil refineries are more commonly associated with the finished petroleum products, other chemical dangerous persist. Onsite benzene, toluene, sulfur…
If there is a silver lining to infer from the generational transcending destruction from Tropical Storm Helene in western North Carolina, it’s the absence of a coinciding hazardous material incident on the natural disaster bingo card for the region. Cataclysmic chemical incidents invariably follow most natural disasters. Although most storm-stricken residents immediately notice the absence…
We have an important message from the chemical storage industry: zombies and noxious fumes are spiking gas detectors in your vicinity! But we’re not talking about the putrid walking dead who are rotting from the inside out, longing for one last gasp of life beyond the grave. However, this lingering chemical threat lurking from the…
Battery storage fires are like the Energizer Bunny – once they start, they just keep going and going. Lithium-ion battery fires have become so problematically enigmatic that some communities are considering moratoriums on future battery storage construction. Towns’ energized fears of battery thermal runaway aren’t unwarranted. Firefighters evacuated hundreds of Escondido, Ca. residents last week…
Protecting our children should be a top priority for every community. Schools were once a sanctuary for precocious youth acquiring the necessary life skills for a successful transition from youthful dalliances to the maturity of adulthood. Unfortunately, these hallowed halls have become mired with persistent threats of violence and chaotic weather. With an uptick in…