Recent Blog Posts

Eyewash and Safety Shower Fail

March 5th, 2019

Recently while walking near a school campus pool, I observed an eyewash and safety shower installed near the pool chemical storage and injection area. To my surprise, I noticed that the valve actuator was locked to the adjacent fence, preventing the unit from functioning without first unlocking the actuator. I can’t say for certain why […]

2017 RMP Amendments and ERPWriter

February 19th, 2019

Regulatory Changes While the 2017 RMP Amendments were approved on September 21, 2018, only one of the changes has taken effect. Other changes in the amendment are likely to be repealed before they ever go into effect. The change that currently affects facilities is the addition of §68.93 to the existing Federal RMP Rule (Title […]

Atmospheric Termination of Relief Valve Discharge Piping

February 5th, 2019

Since ammonia diffusion tanks were removed from the California Mechanical Code in 2016, atmospheric termination of relief valves has once again become a viable strategy for ammonia refrigeration systems. The question that often arises, however, is what constitutes “safe” termination to atmosphere. ANSI/IIAR 2-2014 §15.5.1 outlines five requirements for proper atmospheric termination: Discharge pipe must […]

Freon Detection Requirements

January 22nd, 2019

There is a common misconception that synthetic refrigerants are exempt from all regulatory burden. Many end users are attracted to Freon refrigerants because of a desire to avoid PSM, RMP, and the many requirements associated with operating an ammonia refrigeration system: machinery room ventilation, detection, emergency response, mechanical integrity, etc. While we have previously summarized […]

King Solenoid Valves: Prevention of Liquid Trapping

January 8th, 2019

In many industrial refrigeration systems, the main liquid feed shut off valve (King Valve) can be remotely controlled as a solenoid valve that is interlocked with the computer control system. The typical configuration of a king solenoid valve assembly includes the following four (4) components, listed in the direction of flow: Upstream Isolation Valve Strainer […]