OSHA Launches NEP for Chemical Facilities

OSHA has started a national emphasis program (NEP) for chemical facilities. This NEP replaces OSHA’s 2009 pilot chemical facility NEP. It establishes policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces that are covered by OSHA’s process safety management (PSM) standard. The program’s inspection process includes detailed questions designed to gather facts related to PSM requirements and verification that employers’ written and implemented PSM programs are consistent.

“During the pilot NEP, we found many of the same safety-related problems that were uncovered during our NEP for the refinery industry, which is also covered by the PSM standard,” says OSHA Administrator David Michaels. “As a result, we are expanding the enforcement program to a national level to increase awareness of these dangers so that employers will more effectively prevent the release of highly hazardous chemicals.”

Learn more about PSM for general industry and construction, guidance on how to develop a process hazard analysis, and OSHA requirements for preventing the release of hazardous chemicals here.