NDT Guide to Federal Regulations

In the US, the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) resulted in a definition of federal regulations for the monitoring of processing facilities and equipment.

These regulations are published and referenced as OSHA 29 CFR 1910.

Section 119 (29 CFR 1910.119) defines Process Safety Management of highly hazardous chemicals. It requires subject process industries to perform a Process Hazard Analysis in accord with generally accepted industry standards.

Appendix C outlines non-mandatory Compliance Guidelines and Recommendations for a Process Safety Management program based upon the initial Process Hazard Analysis.

Section 261 (29 CFR 1910.261) defines Process Safety Management for paper, pulp and paperboard mills. Other sections refer to specific requirements for special industries as well, such as textiles and grain handling facilities.

There are also US Environmental Protection Agency regulations (administered by each state) that require the implementation of a Risk Management Plan, that is best coordinated with the Process Hazard Analysis effort at each facility.

Industry codes

The generally accepted industry standards referred to in the OSHA federal regulations have been best defined by the American Petroleum Institute (API) for the Process Hazard Analysis and the ongoing Process Safety Management effort.

• API 570 (June 1993) is the Piping Inspection Code for the inspection, repair, alteration and re-rating of in-service piping systems.
• API 510 (March 1992) is the Pressure Vessel Inspection Code for maintenance, inspection, rating, repair and alteration.
• API 653 (January 1991) is the Tank Inspection repair, alteration and reconstruction standard.
• API Recommended Practice 579 describes standardized fitness-for-service assessment techniques for pressurized equipment to supplement API 570, 510, and 653.
• API Publication 581, Base Resource Document, is the result of API research and development of an approach to Risk Based Inspection, (RBI). RBI is being introduced as an integrated methodology that uses risk as a basis for prioritizing and managing an in-service equipment inspection program by combining both the likelihood of failure and the consequence of failure.

These codes and standards have been applied in several process industries other than petrochemical, such as fertilizer, paper and pulp, household products, and food processing. Ultimately each processing site is responsible to define the Process Safety Management inspection effort for its facility.