tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.comments2024-02-02T22:30:20.736-05:00Chemical Facility Security NewsPJCoylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390039682578324978noreply@blogger.comBlogger787125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-18704098655515086772024-02-02T22:19:09.579-05:002024-02-02T22:19:09.579-05:00Good stuff Patrick. The environmental impacts of A...Good stuff Patrick. The environmental impacts of AI were thought-provoking.ericgallanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01042092542719591434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-33531529381456258662024-02-02T03:05:23.141-05:002024-02-02T03:05:23.141-05:00You are right, the new Rockwell vulnerabilities ar...You are right, the new Rockwell vulnerabilities are on the new website now, but they were not there yesterday. Well, actually... they were not on the landing page, but if you edited the URL to match the SDnnnn number, they showed. So it was just an administrative delay somewhere. <br /><br />If I were the maintainer of this website, I'd update the 'new' website first and then the 'old' one, and not the other way around, otherwise people do not migrate.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-35260344687390206602024-02-01T03:03:00.488-05:002024-02-01T03:03:00.488-05:00Strange that Rockwell reports vulnerabilities to C...Strange that Rockwell reports vulnerabilities to CISA, but doesn't publish them on their own website. They recently made a new website for security advisories, for which a login is no longer needed, but the new website is not as actively maintained as the old website, so you'd better use the old one to keep current. CISA refers to Rockwell's new website.<br /><br />As for the ICSA-24-030-07, the Rockwell advisory is at https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/support/advisory.SD1659.html (but a login is needed...)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-55077404067035824172024-01-23T03:19:09.087-05:002024-01-23T03:19:09.087-05:00Indeed the Broadcom advisory is confusing. It does...Indeed the Broadcom advisory is confusing. It does list three products as you noticed but gives no details for the 2 other products, as a user I cannot do much with such advisories.<br /><br />Also, if I were to be a Broadcom user, and I search the KEV for Broadcom-related advisories, there's none to be found. How can I know that there is a GNU component in these products? Vulnerability trackers might not know about the relation. Time for SBOM!<br /><br />You are right regarding the exploits for the library very likely not working on the devices. Vendors can do something here to help/inform us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-85634550435683577652024-01-22T03:44:28.479-05:002024-01-22T03:44:28.479-05:00In the "Week of 6-13-24" section, the UR...In the "Week of 6-13-24" section, the URL to the Broadcom advisory https://support.broadcom.com/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/22987 is probably not the right one, if you open that one an advisory opens but it states that "No Brocade Fibre Channel Products from Broadcom Products are known to be affected by this vulnerability." so it also unlikely to be in the CISA KEV list.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-3713569434882810882023-12-20T08:58:05.432-05:002023-12-20T08:58:05.432-05:00Thank you for articulating this concern. Hopefully...Thank you for articulating this concern. Hopefully, Local Emergency Planning Committees will take note and sound alarm to their reps in Congress. My LEPC was fully engaged with many of the manufacturing and chemical storage facilities, as well, as pipelines running through our community. <br /><br /> Again, thank you for the insight going on in Congress. David Sahmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-68293826716714706192023-09-08T23:05:15.799-04:002023-09-08T23:05:15.799-04:00My apologies, it has been corrected. I really did ...My apologies, it has been corrected. I really did like your presentation.PJCoylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03390039682578324978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-40032323253841924572023-09-08T21:30:25.615-04:002023-09-08T21:30:25.615-04:00Sunny Wescott is CISA's Lead Meteorologist, no...Sunny Wescott is CISA's Lead Meteorologist, not FEMA's. Just a note from Sunny :) Sunny Wescottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-35393572570658532082023-08-08T22:06:22.184-04:002023-08-08T22:06:22.184-04:00
A simple answer would be to use solar cells, the ...<br />A simple answer would be to use solar cells, the same technology that has powered the rovers and helicopter used in Mars exploration to date. Slightly more inovative would be to use the small nuclear systems used to power deep space probes. More creatively yet would be to develope small fission reactors.<br /><br />Seriously though, Starship could provide lift capability for a fairly complex solar array system. Even easier, a heavy, unfueled MarsShip could be fueled in orbit and then mated with a fuel tank to allow for both outbound and return flights. I am sure that SpaceX could come up with something...PJCoylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03390039682578324978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-5628140412262983872023-08-08T14:51:07.385-04:002023-08-08T14:51:07.385-04:00Concerning the Space-X manufacture of fuel from ca...Concerning the Space-X manufacture of fuel from carbon dioxide and water ice for a return trip from Mars, I would have to see the details of how this is going to be accomplished. Unless the laws of thermodynamics have been repealed on Mars (as they already have been in cinematic blockbusters), it will take energy to accomplish this feat. How is this energy going to be generated?Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-25601221891964350852023-08-06T00:11:18.406-04:002023-08-06T00:11:18.406-04:00Well, I wonder how this is going to work out since...Well, I wonder how this is going to work out since CFATS didn't get reauthorized. If this is such an important program to prevent catastrophic incidents from occurring, why has it been allowed to require periodic reauthorization? It has always portrayed as needing reauthorization so that problematic issues can be worked out. Seems like after all these years, these "problematic issues" would have been resolved a long time ago. But, as stated in other areas, DHS has yet to implement a program implementing security measures around Ammonium Nitrate. When I left the industry in 2014 and moved over to a real critical infrastructure, they were just trying to get that off the ground. Nine years later, nothing... As having been there on the ground floor, this is a perfect example of how things have deteriorated in Washington. On the other hand, all those associations and companies who seem to think the failure of CFATS means they can't properly secure their facilities is hogwash. Keep doing what they've been doing, just because they don't have some inspector from DHS telling them that what they are doing is right doesn't mean they shouldn't keep doing it...CDMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-32469794185964974292023-06-09T17:25:36.223-04:002023-06-09T17:25:36.223-04:00With just over half a month to go before July 1, t...With just over half a month to go before July 1, the CSB has completed and issued only two of the six investigations it scheduled to finish in the first half of 2023. This was per the revised Investigation Closure Plan of January 2023. It will be interesting to see how many of the remaining four investigations are closed in the short time remaining in the first half of this year.Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-77658427212160133032023-05-04T04:04:19.689-04:002023-05-04T04:04:19.689-04:00I'm joining Elon Musk in being skeptical about...I'm joining Elon Musk in being skeptical about widespread use of hydrogen for transportation. Using it for rocket fuel and point-of-use power like steel plants makes more sense. Widespread storage & use of hydrogen for transportation scares the sh!!!!t out of me as a safety hazard, not to mention potential for sabotage. OopsI I guess I shouldn't have said that!!Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-76684180475989984332023-04-13T09:22:40.510-04:002023-04-13T09:22:40.510-04:00Yep. I mentioned those here - https://chemical-fac...Yep. I mentioned those here - https://chemical-facility-security-news.blogspot.com/2023/04/csb-takes-action-on-five.html<br />PJCoylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03390039682578324978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-76105820284403745562023-04-13T02:50:40.439-04:002023-04-13T02:50:40.439-04:00Actually, there are five CSB recommendation status...Actually, there are five CSB recommendation status updates which are dated 3/30/23, so less than a couple of weeks before the four recommendation status updates on 4/10/23.Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-19049604185833621982023-04-03T19:04:32.346-04:002023-04-03T19:04:32.346-04:00Thanks for the link to our blog site. The issue of...Thanks for the link to our blog site. The issue of remote access gives me tremendous heartburn for a variety of reasons. Usually people don't set out for the journey to a work place without being in some kind of roadworthy health. With remote access you have no idea if the person is fit for duty. The person doing the remote access could be in a semi-functional drunk state and nobody would be any wiser. <br /><br />Further, just being on site with the sounds and smells around you can clue you in to a lot about what's really going on. With remote access the lack of boots on the ground, the lack of vision, feeling, smelling and hearing makes diagnosing what's going on less certain. You also can't see Lock-Out tags over SCADA unless people make an effort to record things there as well. <br /><br />I recognize that it isn't always easy or practical to drive five hours to get to a site that just started alarming at 1 AM. Remote Access does have a place in our arsenal of tools. But it is used far more often than it should be. We need protocols, procedures, and limits. The days when some guy in a bar can show me a pumping station half-way round the earth and manipulate things just for fun are over (Yes, I had someone after hours at a trade show demonstrate this in 2005). It's time to get serious about locking this tool down. Jake Brodskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10353058180710930885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-20293862633935216892023-03-27T09:08:33.634-04:002023-03-27T09:08:33.634-04:00This is a good perspective to provide during the o...This is a good perspective to provide during the open comments on the accidental release reporting at -> https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/02/2023-04234/agency-information-collection-activities-proposals-submissions-and-approvals-csb-accidental-releaseAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-54066629564937739062023-02-13T22:23:28.788-05:002023-02-13T22:23:28.788-05:00The people letting criminals cross the border, and...The people letting criminals cross the border, and springing felons from jail, and erasing the lower limits for felony offenses. Suddenly have an interest in the criminal code. For drones. So much irony there that this post should develop rust.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-5714186049394046352022-11-20T17:09:52.184-05:002022-11-20T17:09:52.184-05:00The same day as the Senate EPW hearing for Mr. Owe...The same day as the Senate EPW hearing for Mr. Owens and Ms. Sandoval, the CSB quietly posted their 2022 Performance and Accountability Report (https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/6/csb_fy_2022_performance__accountability_report.pdf). It contained several interesting items.<br /><br />First, concerning the two Bio-Lab incidents being investigated - only one of which was listed on their Incident Closure Plan:<br />• Chemical Fire Following Hurricane Laura (Westlake, LA): On August 27, 2020, a fire occurred at the Bio-Lab Lake Charles chemical facility following landfall of Hurricane Laura. The fire led to a call for residents to shelter-in-place. The investigation team is developing the final investigation report. <br />• Chemical Release (Conyers, GA): On September 14, 2020, a thermal decomposition event occurred at the Bio-Lab facility in Conyers, GA. Interstate Highway 20 was closed temporarily due to smoke produced by the event. The information on this investigation will be included in the Bio-Lab Lake Charles investigation report. <br /><br /><br />Second, they made the following admission with regard to the implementation of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan:<br />• Goal 3: Create and maintain an engaged, high-performing workforce. <br />Centers on implementing actions to support the current objectives. Consensus is the hiring process needs improving and the specialized skills needed for CSB positions goes beyond standard recruiting practices currently in place. <br /><br /><br />Third, the report made the following statement regarding the past year's achievements and current efforts regarding Goal 3:<br />Goal 3: Create and maintain an engaged, high-performing workforce. <br />Goal 3 emphasizes organizational excellence. In FY 2022 CSB continued its recruiting efforts to fill multiple vacancies for the agency’s mission critical position, Chemical Incident Investigator. <br />Industry trends drive a need for the CSB to strengthen our capacity to analyze increasingly complex engineering processes and human interactions with these processes and deploy to incidents in new industries and with emerging technologies. In FY the CSB hired two chemical incident investigators, with another chemical incident investigator scheduled to join the agency in November. The CSB also is actively recruiting to fill four additional chemical incident investigator positions, as well as a vacant chemical incident investigator supervisor position. <br /><br />This last sentence is a bit puzzling to me. When asked during the Senate EPW hearing how many Chemical Incident Investigators there currently were, Mr. Owens replied that there were 13, including Supervisory Investigators, and this agrees with my count (William Steiner is gone and Tyler Nelson has just started), and with the number shown on the 2022 Performance and Accountability Organizational Chart - but there is no vacancy shown for a Chemical Incident Investigator Supervisor. So...does this mean that one is getting ready to leave?<br /><br />There is one other thing about which I am extremely curious - the Senior Chemical Incident Investigator (Dan Tillema). He reports directly to the Executive Director for Investigations and Recommendations, and is not part of any team. So...how is he being utilized? E.g., as a trainer, coach, internal expert, or as assigned?Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-14382569364673000502022-11-02T18:06:26.513-04:002022-11-02T18:06:26.513-04:00Has the CSB Dropped an Incident Investigation?
Re...Has the CSB Dropped an Incident Investigation?<br /><br />Recently the CSB updated their Investigation Closure Plan: https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/17/csb_report_schedule2.pdf?16849.<br /><br />The only changes from the previous update of August 2, 2022 are the removal of the completed investigations for Sunoco (issued in September 2022) and Philadelphia Energy Solutions (issued in October 2022).<br /><br />However, once again the supposed investigation of the Bio-Lab thermal decomposition event in Conyers, GA on 9/14/2020 is missing. It is still listed as a "current investigation" on the CSB website: https://www.csb.gov/bio-lab-chemical-release-/.<br /><br />There is a Bio-Lab chemical fire and release in Lake Charles, LA on 8/27/2020 listed on the Investigation Closure Plan: https://www.csb.gov/bio-lab-chemical-fire-and-release-/.<br /><br />So...has the CSB dropped the Bio-Lab Conyers, GA investigation? Or are they combining it with the Lake Charles, LA event, and planning to issue one report for both?Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-72291402323370426522022-10-31T16:27:25.305-04:002022-10-31T16:27:25.305-04:00Patrick, I posted your commentary of 10/12/22 on t...Patrick, I posted your commentary of 10/12/22 on the PES Refinery Investigation Report on AIChE Engage Discussion Central, and today got the following response:<br /><br />In reply to Patrick Coyle's comments:<br /><br />Valves may also be designed to fail in their last position, not just open or closed<br />The preference for making the deluge valves fail open may seem obvious when viewed through the lens of one particular scenario. But one must also consider the consequences in other circumstances, such as during normal operation in cold weather. If the deluge valve failed open for any reason, the entire area could be coated in a thick layer of ice, and that may also create conditions adverse to process and personal safety.<br />So the choice may not be as "obvious" as Mr. Coyle believes, but he is certainly correct in his statement that other considerations are involved, and in the need to design for reliable activation of emergency systems when conditions warrant.<br /><br />Don Lorenzo, PERosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-57058954783732637402022-09-20T16:52:15.705-04:002022-09-20T16:52:15.705-04:00There is an under-appreciated problem with hiring ...There is an under-appreciated problem with hiring Investigators (and perhaps other staff positions) at the CSB. A recent article in Chemical & Engineering News by Jeff Johnson includes interviews with the CSB's Mr. Owens and Dr. Johnson that show they have a recognition of the bureaucratic "hiring problem" at the CSB: https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/US-Chemical-Safety-Board-leaders/100/i34?utm_source=LatestNews&utm_medium=LatestNews&utm_campaign=CENRSS.<br /><br />In the Discussion Central on the AIChE Engage website, retired CSB Investigator Steve Cutchen provided the following comments:<br /><br />When I was working for the CSB, hiring investigators was problematic. The office of personnel management had definitions for spots that we had to fit in to. Investigator could end up with an applicant from the military (that gave them priority) that had experience in investigating roadside IEDs. Not really what we were looking for, but priority because they were ex-military.<br /><br />We had to try to craft and manage our open positions in order to limit applicants to people that had background in CSB-specific subject matter. That did not mean everyone was a chemical engineer. We had chemistry majors, human factors majors, law school graduates... but that diversity brought broad perspective. All of my colleagues, regardless of degree, were sharp witted and quick to grasp safety concepts. Being open-minded, we really worked better as a group than my experience in industry with a full engineering team might suggest.<br /><br />At the time, the agency would skirt the process by hiring engineering college students as interns under a special government program, and then offering them jobs as a result of their performance. We would then mentor them to full investigators. We had some wonderful folks as a result. But I'm not sure that process still exists.<br /><br />I came into the agency as a 31 year chemical industry engineer/manager with expertise in process control, process engineering, hazard analysis, and as world-wide instructor for advanced incident investigation, specializing in human factors. Yet I had to wait for a slot to be designed that would allow the agency to make me an offer that would exclude non-experienced but otherwise priority candidates.<br /><br />It seems that the recent cadre of new investigators are well qualified. But they don't have the luxury of working as a "back-bencher" on major incident investigations while being taught and mentored to the level needed to be investigators-in-charge. They are thrown into the deep end simply as a result of a numbers issue.<br /><br />I really hope that the new board members will embrace the history of the CSB and set a workplace environment that allows for the re-creation the type of investigation cadre I was so honored to work with.<br /><br /><br />I correspond with Jeff Johnson, and included Steve's remarks about the hiring process. Jeff had the following response to me:<br />The hiring problem came up in interview several times. It is even tougher than you and Steven describe. ... Oh and this is one reason looking for rehires.Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-25184426806664113462022-09-11T18:01:14.867-04:002022-09-11T18:01:14.867-04:00On September 7, the EPA Office of Inspector Genera...On September 7, the EPA Office of Inspector General just released a rather distressing report on the state of the CSB: Special Review of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Capabilities to Effectively Administer Its Programs and Operations. Link: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-09/_epaoig_20220907-22-N-0056.pdf.<br />Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-42703190340262592482022-08-10T02:03:39.749-04:002022-08-10T02:03:39.749-04:00The plan now shows closure targets based on the ca...The plan now shows closure targets based on the calendar year, rather than the previous plan submitted to Congress that was based on the Federal fiscal year. Mysteriously, one of the current open investigations has been left off the list of this updated plan, namely the Bio-Rad chemical release in Conyers, GA on 9/14/2020 (see https://www.csb.gov/bio-lab-chemical-release-/).<br /><br />In addition, the CSB has recently expanded its previously moribund "CSB Directory".Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122514974659083342.post-41746939928527349912022-07-14T21:37:15.949-04:002022-07-14T21:37:15.949-04:00The troubles and turmoil with the CSB go all the w...The troubles and turmoil with the CSB go all the way back to its inception as part of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The "father" of the CSB was Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, and its inclusion in the CAAA was reluctantly accepted by Bush-41. However, it was never funded until the second term of Bill Clinton. Before that time, the EPA and OSHA conducted several joint investigations of chemical disasters, which were particularly not well received. The last such investigation was the for the 4/21/1995 disaster at Napp Technologies in Lodi, NJ. This finally led to funding the CSB in 1998. The CSB is non-regulatory, but it is certainly NOT non-political. The record speaks for itself - Presidential support has ranged from non-existent at worst to luke warm at best. With the death of Senator Lautenberg, the agency really has no "champion" in Congress, and even Lautenberg was never able to increase its funding to something above the "life support" level. The CSB's reports and videos (in particular) are admired from afar, but as one gets closer, there are snipers firing at it from everywhere - industry, labor, NGOs and other government agencies. Each has their own axe to grind.Rosearrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755764690236163780noreply@blogger.com