Environment & Safety
European process safety guru says 'macho culture' creates more accidents
Trevor Kletz, one of the world’s most revered experts on process safety, has cited industry’s ‘macho culture’ as one of the main causes of recent accidents. Kletz, who spent almost forty years at ICI before forging a second career as an author on process safety and loss prevention, says that while there has been no deliberate decision to spend less on safety, many senior managers have taken their eye off the ball and that a macho approach to ‘get stuck in’ has been the underlying cause of recent incidents.
NPRA lauds US House bill to delay EPA regulations
National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) president Charles T. Drevna welcomed recent action by the US House of Representatives approving the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act of 2011, and he called on the Senate to pass the measure as well.
FMC, partners form US air pollution control venture
FMC Corp., Church & Dwight Co. and TATA Chemicals (soda ash) have agreed to form a partnership to manufacture and market sodium-based, dry sorbents for air pollution control in electric utility and industrial boiler operations.
EU Parliament seeks stricter greenhouse gas rules
The European Parliament is calling for fast action to reduce non-CO2 climate forcers including black carbon soot, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), methane, and ground-level ozone, which together are responsible for nearly half of climate forcing, the group said.
Johnson Controls to build China auto battery plant
Johnson Controls is investing $100 million to build a Start-Stop vehicle battery plant in China, citing increasing global demand for high-quality automotive batteries with environmentally-friendly Start-Stop technology.
GE sees rising gas turbine sales in North America
GE has received more than $1 billion in orders for heavy duty and aeroderivative gas turbines for projects throughout North America in 2011, underscoring a growing trend to use abundant, cleaner-burning natural gas for power generation. That figure is up more than 10% from 2010, the company said.
BP given brunt of blame in final Gulf oil spill report
A final investigation report released by US regulators on Wednesday found BP largely at fault in the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and resulting oil spill in April 2010.
Air Products expands Korea nitrogen fluoride plant
Air Products is more than doubling its nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) capacity at its production facility in Ulsan, Korea. The new capacity is expected to be onstream in the second half of 2012.
Gulf oil production returns to near normal after Lee
Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are re-boarding platforms and rigs and restoring production following Tropical Storm Lee, with production in the region returning to near normal after being more than 60% shut earlier in the week. However, another storm may loom in the near future.
US refiners note security upgrades as 9/11 nears
American fuel and petrochemical manufacturers have made major improvements in security to protect their facilities against possible terrorist attacks since Sept. 11, 2001, National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) president Charles T. Drevna said on Friday.
- CNOOC completes construction on $2.9-B, 1.8-MMtpy integrated complex in east China 8/22
- bp's Whiting refinery (U.S.) continues to flare days after severe thunderstorm 8/22
- Bachmann introduces latest version M-Target for Simulink 8/22
- U.S. to rule on biofuel waivers, but big oil refiners may need to wait 8/22
- Chinese independent refiner Hongrun buys Canadian, Brazilian crude 8/22
- Ukrainian attack suspends Russian oil flows to Hungary, Slovakia 8/22
