The U.S. Chemical Safety Board recently released the paper "Seven Key Lessons to Prevent Worker Deaths During Hot Work In and Around Tanks -- Effective Hazard Assessment and Use of Combustible Gas Monitoring Will Save Lives"

Dear Sir:
 
You picked a great topic and started out - I am sure - with a good intention.  But somehow you managed to overlook a most inconvenient truth. 

Hello Mark,

I read your whitewash editorial [Grasp All The Lessons Of Bhopal].  Shame on you for that!  Tell the truth, instead of misdirection of cause-and-effect.

Dear Mr. Rosenzweig,

I have read your editorial on Bhopal, as well as Professor Kletz's article, in the recent edition of Chemical Processing.

I recently traveled to Blue Springs, Mo., to visit with the folks at Fike Corp., supplier of products and services that protect people and critical assets from dangers such as fire, explosion and over-pressurization.

Specifically, I went there to interview experts about the importance of assessing the risk of dust explosions.

I regularly monitor chemical accidents in the news. It's a way to help me understand the dangers that Chemical Processing readers face on a daily basis. Manufacturing can be a dangerous profession. Add chemicals to the mix and the potential hazards grow exponentially. The best defense is being prepared for the worst.

Indeed, just last week a chemical leak at the Bayer CropScience plant in Kansas City, Mo., was quickly contained by Kansas City hazmat crews and Bayer emergency crews.

If you've never been to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board's Web site, it's time you remedy that. The site is full of useful videos, news and articles all aimed at helping you make your site a safer place to work.

Mark Rosenzweig's upcoming editorial for the August issue is about summer reading. Well – according to Mark, it's summer reading. The titles he suggests aren't the lightest of tomes: