Hazardous waste can be found almost anywhere. Most of these wastes are commonly found in industrial facilities like food processing factories, oil storage units, steel plants and hospitals. These places produce waste that can cause illnesses, injuries and property damage

Standing for long periods of time in the workplace, especially on unprotected flooring, can be harmful to a worker’s health and well-being. It can also affect their level of performance. See how and why you should get anti-fatigue mats to minimize those untoward effects on your workers.

Cigarettes are not only the number one killer of people, but the butts of these deadly sticks are also the number one threat to the environment. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there are more than 1,000 civilian deaths, 3,000 critical injuries, and $400 million in property damage all resulting from cigarette-caused fires. Action has to be done to address this problem and this is where cigarette receptacles come in.

Hazardous materials, or HazMat for short, are substances that contain ingredients that may be harmful to your health. They contain materials that may be lethal, corrosive, toxic, irritant, sensitizing, mutagenic, teratogenic or carcinogenic by nature. These hazardous materials can cause death, serious injury, long lasting health effects, and damage to structure and property. Examples of hazmat are explosives, flammable and combustible substances, poisons and radioactive materials.

Every year, the U.S. industry produces more than 14 billion tons of waste such as gaseous emissions, solid waste, waste water, and sludge. The American industry spends billions of dollars to control these toxic and hazardous wastes. Find out how proper waste minimization techniques can help save that money that used to go to waste.

Rains and flooding can result in serious complications for industrial facilities. Find out how to deal with those complications by installing stormwater products.

Hydrogen peroxide is a very common substance nowadays. A 3% hydrogen peroxide solution is used in several applications from bleaching hair to cleaning wounds. But because of the many everyday uses of its diluted form, people tend to forget that hydrogen peroxide can actually be a dangerous substance. Read on to find out how improperly-packed hydrogen peroxide caused chaos on a couple of flights in 1998.

The safety disaster case file for today is about a blast that has dealt one of the largest damages to any community in the 12-year history of the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which investigated it. On November 22, 2006 at 2:45 AM, an explosion occurred at the CAI, Inc. and Arnel Co. Inc. ink- and paint-manufacturing plant in Danvers, Massachusetts. The blast was so strong that it leveled not just the 12,000 sq. m. compound where the plant stood, but also completely destroyed 24 houses located just a few hundred feet away from the plant. A fire also raged afterwards, which was only put out 17 hours after the explosion.

Today’s safety disaster anecdote is about a fire that instead of being put out was allowed to burn itself out. This is about the Environmental Quality (EQ) Hazardous Waste Plant explosion and fire which took place on October 5, 2006 in Apex, North Carolina. While there were no fatalities in this industrial accident, around 17,000 people living in the surrounding areas were forced to evacuate because of the chemical smoke. Around 30 people also sought medical attention because of nausea and respiratory distress.

Today’s Safety Disaster File is about one of the largest and most powerful explosions ever investigated by the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB). As strong as the force of 1,200 lbs of TNT, the explosion at the T2 Laboratories claimed the lives of four people and injured 32 others.

One of the strangest bear encounters happened last August 19, 2010 in Christina Lake, Canada. According to a news report from Reuters, the incident began when several officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RMCP) who raided a suspected marijuana plantation found 10 black bears wandering around the property.

Liquid nitrogen is a staple in a lot of Hollywood movies, showing everything from objects to robots (Terminator 2) and even humans (Jason X, GoldenEye) freezing when sprayed, splashed, or dunked in the substance. They have been so frozen that when hit, they would easily shatter like glass.

But that’s in the movies. How dangerous is liquid nitrogen in real life? What are the steps that we need to take in order to avoid accidents with this chemical?

The Barton Solvents Fire occured on October 29, 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa. A 300 gallon portable steel tank ignited, starting a fire that raged for 11 hours. It shut down the company for two days, incurring losses. Find out how to prevent fires like this in an industrial facility by following the recommendations of the US Chemical Safety Board.

On November 12, 2008, a tank managed by Allied Terminals, Inc. in Chesapeake, Virginia, failed and imploded. Two workers were seriously injured in the tank collapse. Residents were also forced to evacuate, as 2.1 million gallons of liquid fertilizer flooded the surrounding areas, even reaching a nearby river. Read on to find out how to prevent a similar disaster.

Today’s facility safety lesson revolves around the Xcel Energy Hydroelectric Plant Fire, which occurred in Cabin Creek, Georgetown, Colorado. On October 2, 2007, five workers perished while three were injured when a fire broke out in an enclosed penstock.