Episode 87 - Chemical Reactivity Concerns with Guest Tom Kuechler

Amplify Your Process Safety

In this episode, Molly is joined by guest Tom Kuechler. Tom (Ph.D., inorganic chemistry) has over 35 years of experience in the water treatment industry (pool/spas, drinking water, and cooling towers), chiefly with chlorinated isocyanurates, including 15 years at Occidental Chemical Corporation’s trichloroisocyanuric acid plant. His responsibilities have included product and application research, field trials, technical service, manufacturing support, and regulatory support.

Today, Molly and Tom discuss chemical reactivity issues in the hope that they will help to prevent other companies from suffering through catastrophic process safety incidents like those at Bio-Lab and Optima Belle, which were recently reported on by the CSB. They discuss safety data sheets and their importance, define what a water-reactive compound is, talk about the importance of preserving process safety knowledge at a facility over time, and address some process scale-up precautions that should be taken when handling reactive chemicals.

You can reach Tom Kuechler with any further questions at [email protected]. To learn more about the CSB incident investigations mentioned in today's episode, go to csb.gov or listen to Episode 76 - Incident Breakdown: 2020 Toxic Gas Release and Chemical Fire at Bio-Lab Facility and Episode 82 - Incident Breakdown: 2020 Fatal Explosion at Optima Belle Facility.