Sandra Owens, CHMM, CSP (Florida) will present "Section 112(r)(1) The General Duty Clause Under RMP" at the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals (AHMP) 2018 National Conference in Reno, Nevada from 10:15 – 11:15 a.m. on August 27, 2018.

Sandy is a Senior Scientist with more than 20 years of experience in environmental, health and safety compliance with specific technical expertise in process safety management (PSM) and risk management programs (RMP) compliance. She performs PSM and RMP audits; develops PSM/RMP programs and related procedures; leads process hazard analyses (PHAs) using the What-If, What-If Checklist and HAZOP methods; conducts customized PSM/RMP training; and provides general PSM/RMP compliance assistance. Sandy also performs Offsite Consequence Analyses (OCA) and prepares RMP Submittals for submission to the U.S. EPA. She has assisted clients with regulatory audits and responses to agency consent orders related to PSM and RMP. Her specific experience is with processes containing anhydrous ammonia, aqueous ammonia, chlorine, sulfur dioxide, ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, monomethyl hydrazine, propane, butane, hydrazine, vinyl acetate monomer, monomethylamine, and other flammables.

The AHMP is devoted to the professional advancement of the hazardous materials management field. Its membership comprises thousands of the nation's leading experts in environmental, health, safety, and security management..

Abstract

The General Duty Clause ("GDC") under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 112 (r)(1) has been in effect since 1990 - over 25 years. The GDC applies to facilities with extremely hazardous substances and states that "owners and operators of stationary sources producing, processing, handling, and storing such substances have a general duty to identify hazards which may result from releases using appropriate hazard assessment techniques, to design and maintain a safe facility taking such steps as are necessary to prevent releases, and to minimize the consequences of accidental releases which do occur." Addressing the safe management of chemicals and prevention of chemical releases is also the subject of the RMP Rule, also established under CAA Section 112 (r). Unlike the RMP Rule, the GDC can be applied to stationary sources processing, handling, or storing hazardous chemicals not on any one list and no threshold quantity applies. In addition, EPA has increased enforcement of the GDC over the past few years which may be triggered not just by an accidental release but by failure to prepare for and implement preventive measures for an accidental release. Further, EPA's National Enforcement Initiatives for 2017-2019 include "Reducing Risks of Accidental Releases at Industrial and Chemical Facilities", an initiative which could be addressed by increasing enforcement of the GDC and the RMP Rule. This presentation will discuss possibly surprising "real world" examples of GDC violations and significant steps facilities should take to take improve compliance with the GDC.

More Information

Learn more about the presentation: https://ahmp.confex.com/ahmp/2018/webprogram/Session5023.html.
Learn more about the event: https://ahmp.confex.com/ahmp/2018/webprogram/meeting.html.
For consultation regarding risk management programs, contact Sandy Owens at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Learn more about Sandy at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-owens-chmm-csp-442b7a17/