Recent Blog Posts

Ammonia Release | Auto-Purger

January 23rd, 2024

Summary In September 2012, the rupture of an auto-purger bubbler resulted in two injuries, one of which was permanent and disabling. The root causes were determined to be a buildup of scale inside the bubbler, and failure to follow proper maintenance/operating procedures. Incident Description Water & mineral deposits were collected in the drain line of […]

Ammonia Release | Arc Flash in Solenoid Valve

January 9th, 2024

Summary In September 2022, a solenoid coil grounded out against the plunger tube which burned a hole in the post of the valve. This resulted in two injuries and a release of approximately 1,095 lbs of ammonia.   Incident Description Damage to the solenoid coil allowed the “live” coil to make contact with the “ground” […]

The Cost of Non-Compliance | Part 10: Conclusion & Appendix A Database

August 8th, 2023

Uriah Donaldson presented a technical paper at the 2023 IIAR Conference titled The Cost of Non-Compliance: An Objective Analysis of Federal EPA’s Enforcement at Ammonia Refrigeration Facilities. This blog series includes excerpts from his technical paper. Part 10: Conclusion & Appendix A Database The Federal EPA and its body of regulations is not likely to go away anytime soon. […]

The Cost of Non-Compliance | Part 9: Examples and Summaries of Real Inspection Reports

July 25th, 2023

Uriah Donaldson presented a technical paper at the 2023 IIAR Conference titled The Cost of Non-Compliance: An Objective Analysis of Federal EPA’s Enforcement at Ammonia Refrigeration Facilities. This blog series includes excerpts from his technical paper. Part 9: Examples and Summaries of Real Inspection Reports This last section reviews several examples of individual inspection reports representing common findings and […]

The Cost of Non-Compliance | Part 8: Analysis of the Database

July 11th, 2023

Uriah Donaldson presented a technical paper at the 2023 IIAR Conference titled The Cost of Non-Compliance: An Objective Analysis of Federal EPA’s Enforcement at Ammonia Refrigeration Facilities. This blog series includes excerpts from his technical paper. Part 8: Analysis of the Database At the time of this paper’s publication, the database includes more than 450 inspection reports: 254 CAFOs, […]