Hazardous energy control · 26 July 2026
Lockout and tagout on ammonia refrigeration valves.
Why a tag, ribbon or closed handwheel is not enough, and how practical cable lockouts can remove a common barrier to safer valve isolation.
Articles & commentary
Useful thinking for safer ammonia systems.
Browse by topic
Experience.
Shared clearly.
This is the home for Pádraic Durham’s LinkedIn posts and longer articles. New material can be linked here as it is published, creating one searchable reference point for operators, engineers and safety leaders.
Incident learning · 20 June 2017
There is no such thing as an accident in the workplace.
A first-hand account of a serious ammonia exposure and the chain of task, plant and emergency-response failures that shaped the outcome.
Operational excellence · 31 March 2017
What does a good ammonia refrigeration operation look like?
Fifteen practical signs that an ammonia operation is supportable, maintainable, documented and ready for the abnormal.
Emergency capability · 19 May 2020
It’s about capability, not documents.
Why ammonia emergency plans need defined triggers, duty cards, response tools and realistic stress-testing before an incident.
Emergency readiness · 4 December 2024
Shelter in place or evacuate?
How to make a defensible decision during a toxic gas emergency, using the lessons of the 1976 Houston anhydrous ammonia release.
Mechanical integrity · 29 January 2023
How to prevent ammonia tragedies.
Lessons from the fatal Kamloops ammonia release: prove refrigerant removal, control line opening and never allow an inherited assumption to become the basis for hazardous work.
Process safety
Practical guidance on the systems, decisions and controls that prevent major ammonia incidents.
View posts on LinkedIn ↗Technical safety
Field-based explanations of R717 hazards, plant integrity, relief systems and credible release scenarios.
View posts on LinkedIn ↗Training & competence
Ideas for turning technical knowledge into decisions people can make correctly under pressure.
View posts on LinkedIn ↗Emergency readiness
Lessons for response planning, scenario testing, respiratory protection and technical advisory.
View posts on LinkedIn ↗Follow the latest
LinkedIn articles and field commentary.
Read the current collection directly on LinkedIn. Individual article links can be added to this page as the library grows.
Start here
Know where your ammonia risk stands.
Start with a practical conversation about your plant, current concerns and what good looks like from here.
Email Paddy Call Paddy+61 (0) 422 229 828