OSHA: PSM standard exemption applies only to small retail establishments

摘要

Washington - Large facilities that store and sell chemicals no longer may be exempt from OSHA's Process Safety Management Standard, the agency announced July 22 in a revised interpretation of its rules. The change came about partly in an attempt to close a policy gap brought to light by a deadly 2013 explosion at a West Texas Fertilizer Co. facility in West, TX. The company, which possessed more than 50,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate that later exploded and killed 15 people, believed it did not need to comply with aspects of the standard because the product was sold to farmers.