Traci Purdum
Verified
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Traci Purdum
Podcast: Remote Cooling System Failures Are Rarely Sudden
In this episode of Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast, Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum talks with water treatment expert Brad Buecker about the hidden risks of remote cooling systems scattered around large plants. Buecker explains how scale formation and microbiological fouling quietly degrade heat transfer, why cooling towers concentrate impurities and complicate chemistry, and why monthly vendor visits often aren't enough.
Podcast: Garbage In, Garbage Out: Using AI Responsibly in Process Safety
AI agents are now so easy to build that almost anyone can create one, but easy access doesn't mean blanket permission. In this episode, Trish and Traci explore how agentic and generative AI can help chemical facilities by gathering data for risk assessments, spotting weak signals in process trends and freeing engineers from administrative work. They also cover the risks: hallucinated sources, rogue agents and company information leaking into public tools.
eChemExpo Lunch & Learn — Steam Traps: Small Valves, Big Losses
eChemExpo Lunch & Learn — Steam Traps: Small Valves, Big Losses At the first eChemExpo FieldNotes Lunch and Learn, Bo Pless explained how to select, size and troubleshoot steam traps, and why the most common causes of failure are usually the right place to start.
Podcast: Reverse Osmosis — When It's Time to Ditch the Softener
In this episode of the Chemical Processing Distilled Podcast, Brad Buecker of SAMCO Technologies joins editor-in-chief Traci Purdum to dig deeper into reverse osmosis for boiler makeup water. Buecker contrasts RO with sodium softening, explaining how RO removes up to 99% of dissolved ions, cutting corrosion, scaling and blowdown compared to softening alone.
With OSHA Barely Watching, Who's Auditing Your Safety?
With federal OSHA down to roughly 1,700 inspectors for 12 million workplaces — meaning a facility might see a full inspection once every 191 years — self-regulation has effectively become the entire safety system. In this episode, Trish Kerin explains why internal teams stop noticing their own drift from procedure (normalization of deviance) and why "no incidents" doesn't mean a program is working — only that controls haven't been tested yet.
Podcast: A Chemical Engineer's Guide to Leading
Transcript (edited for clarity) Traci: Welcome to Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast. This episode and its transcript are available at chemicalprocessing.com. You can also subscribe on your favorite podcast player. I'm Traci Purdum, editor-in-chief of Chemical Processing, and joining me today is Heather Quigley, Ph.D. Heather is a chemical engineer with 23 years of experience, including five years in people leadership roles spanning R&D, product development and corporate innovation.
Piper Alpha Disaster: The Jenga Tower That Was Always Going to Fall
Today's episode features a guest: Dr. Sean Brady, managing director of Brady Heywood, a forensic engineer who investigates engineering failures from both a technical and organizational perspective. He has served as an expert witness in numerous proceedings involving a wide range of constructed facilities. Sean is director of the Society of Construction Law Australia and a member of the Singapore International Mediation Centre's panel of experts. He is also host of several award-winning podcasts.
Podcast: Condensate Recovery — Know What’s In the Water
Transcript (edited for clarity) Welcome to Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast. This podcast and its transcript can be found at chemicalprocessing.com. You can also download this podcast on your favorite player. I'm Traci Purdum, editor in chief of CP, and joining me today is Brad Buecker, senior technical consultant with Samco Technologies. He has many years of experience supporting the power industry, much of it in steam generation chemistry, water treatment and air quality control.
Science for Sale
Science for Sale Industry insiders are reviewing their own employers' chemicals on EPA's top safety board — and the credibility damage lands hardest on the companies that play it straight. SACC provides independent scientific advice to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA for risk assessments, methodologies and pollution prevention measures under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). At the top of the baker’s dozen is Wade Barranco, senior toxicologist at LyondellBasell.
Podcast: Why Sodium Softeners Make or Break Boiler Water Chemistry
In this episode of Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast, host Traci Purdum talks with Brad Buecker, senior technical consultant at Samco Technologies, about sodium softening — the workhorse treatment for industrial boiler makeup water. Buecker explains how hardness ions cause scale, why residual bicarbonate drives corrosive condensate return lines, and how to spot early warning signs of a poorly monitored softener.
Podcast: Who's Taking Care of the Safety Pro?
On this episode of Processing Safety with Trish and Traci, General Atomics safety engineer Valerie Stakes returns to discuss well-being in the safety profession, building on her 2026 ASSP conference session. She, Trish Kerin and Traci Purdum explore why safety professionals — often wired to please and fix — struggle to set boundaries and how compassion fatigue, unappreciated efforts and repeated exposure to injuries and fatalities take a cumulative toll.
What’s Going On? From the Strait of Hormuz to OSHA’s Heat Safety Enforcement
As you are well aware, looking outside your normal scope helps you find inspiration. I was poking around the websites of Chemical Processing’s sister brands and found great content that matters to our audience. Coverage spans geopolitical risk in the Strait of Hormuz, OSHA's updated heat safety enforcement and the construction industry's mentorship gap as experienced workers retire.
June 2026 Top Content: Decisions That Shape the Plant
June 2026 Top Content: Decisions That Shape the Plant From the inert gas running quietly through your reactors to the alarm flooding your control room, June’s best stories from Chemical Processing zero in on the calls that get made once — and compound for years. This past month, Chemical Processing covered the decisions that don’t announce themselves.
5 Quick Questions with Brad Buecker: On Water Treatment, Writer's Block and Why Safety Is Never Optional
5 Quick Questions with Brad Buecker: On Water Treatment, Writer's Block and Why Safety Is Never Optional The veteran power industry consultant and prolific technical author shares what still energizes him after four decades — and the one mindset shift that could save your plant from a costly crisis. Brad Buecker, a frequent contributor to Chemical Processing, is a senior technical consultant at SAMCO Technologies and owner of Buecker & Associates, LLC.
Powder, Progress and 250 Years: The Chemistry Behind American Independence
Two hundred and fifty years ago this week, a group of delegates in Philadelphia signed their names to the Declaration of Independence. Today, we are going to talk about how chemistry made it all possible. Let's start at the beginning. 1776. When the Continental Army took the field against the British, they faced a big problem: they were running out of black powder.
Got a Fix for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's Algal Bloom?
Got a Fix for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's Algal Bloom? A registered PE with expertise in pollution control breaks down the scale of the challenge. Now we want to hear your solutions. One of our frequent contributors, David Russell, suggested I reach out to the Chemical Processing audience for ideas on addressing the algal bloom at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Russell, founder of Global Environmental Operations Inc., is a registered professional engineer in multiple states.
CP Book Club: Making Safety Happen
Can you highlight any challenging topics the book addresses? One is the tension between production and protection. Many organizations unintentionally create conditions in which employees feel pressured to take shortcuts to meet schedules, production targets or customer demands. The book examines how leaders can recognize those pressures before they contribute to an incident. Another is how organizations measure safety success.
Podcast: Pumps, Flow and the Fight Against Wasted Energy
The Hidden Complexity of Bulk Solids We often assume that if you can weigh something and put it on a belt, you understand it. Almasi makes the case that this assumption costs plants real money. Take density — something that sounds completely straightforward. Almasi explains that bulk density, the density of a material as it actually sits in your silo or rides your conveyor, is fundamentally different from particle density, the density of the individual grain or granule.
Podcast: GKN Aerospace Incident Offers Lessons in Reactive Hazard Management
A May 23 runaway reaction at GKN Aerospace's Garden Grove, California, facility forced 50,000 residents to evacuate after a cooling system failure allowed a tank of methyl methacrylate (MMA) to overheat and begin polymerizing. In this episode, Trish Kerin examines what went wrong, including a temperature gauge that couldn't read above 100 degrees, masking how hot the tank actually got.
5 Quick Questions: Anoosheh Oskouian Is Breathing Easier
Anoosheh Oskouian is the president and CEO of Ship & Shore Environmental, Inc., holding a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado Denver. She began her career as a process engineer at Fluor before transitioning into environmental solutions. She leads a team that designs and delivers custom-engineered industrial air pollution abatement systems.
May 2026 Top Content: An Industry in Motion
This month, Chemical Processing covered a lot of ground, literally. Our executive editor went fly fishing in Tennessee and came back with a dispatch from one of America's most storied chemical complexes. Our writers mapped the legal minefield awaiting plastics producers, followed the renewable energy investments reshaping decarbonization strategy, examined the hidden hierarchies that keep workers from being heard and traced the long road from autonomous control pilot to full production deployment.
Trevor Kletz Warned Us
I hate politics. The divisiveness. The mudslinging. I hate writing about politics even more. But at some point, I have to hold my nose and jump in. It becomes less about discussing politics and more about safety in regard to the chemical industry. I usually play a game of left, right, center when it comes to news. I want to see how stories are being treated from all angles.
Podcast: Perceptual Invariants: The Hidden Key to Operator Expertise
Experienced operators don't just know what to do — they know what to watch, regardless of how conditions change. That ability hinges on perceptual invariants: the critical relationships and variables that remain meaningful even as everything else shifts. Human factors engineer Dave Strobhar explains how identifying and reinforcing these invariants is the key to effective operator training.
Podcast: 11 Fires, 60 Days: What's Really Behind the 2026 Refinery Crisis
Trish: It's an astoundingly long list. I've been watching this unfold over the past couple of months, and we are clearly seeing a lot of refinery and downstream incidents. It could just be a statistical anomaly, but I'm more inclined to think we're seeing pressure on the supply chain — shortages of crude, price of oil, all of those factors combining. Facilities are perhaps being pushed beyond their limits. And what's fortunate so far is there hasn't been a significant human toll.
Podcast: Leading Safely in a VUCA World
When economic pressures mount, safety vigilance can quietly erode — and that's when incidents happen. In this episode, process safety expert Trish Kerin introduces APTBED, a practical decision-making framework for navigating volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times.
Operator Training: When the Subtask Is the Whole Task
Throwing operators into full simulator scenarios sounds thorough, but it can mask the one critical subtask they actually need to master. Human factors engineer Dave Strobhar argues that effective operator training starts by identifying which subtasks carry the highest consequences — loss of containment, asset destruction, major downtime — and drilling those specifically before integrating them into broader scenarios.
Podcast: Water Is Water — And Other Costly Myths
In this episode of Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast, editor-in-chief Traci Purdum speaks with water treatment expert Brad Buecker about the dangers of the "water is water" mindset in industrial settings. Buecker shares real-world examples of costly boiler failures caused by ignoring water chemistry, explains how water's near-universal solvent properties create scaling and corrosion risks and highlights how geography and climate shape treatment needs.
Top Content: The Risks That Never Rest
Last month Chemical Processing addressed several topics. War in the Middle East, tariff whiplash from Washington, a looming railroad merger that could reshape chemical logistics and the relentless march of digitalization into corners of the plant where it had never ventured before. Chemical Processing Notebook: ACD's Eric Byer on Iran, Tariffs and the Fight Over Rail Executive Editor Jonathan Katz spoke with Eric Byer, CEO of the Alliance for Chemical Distribution, about the Iran conflict.
5 Quick Questions with Sean Heinroth, Engineer and Chemical Industry Adviser
Houston-based Sean Heinroth, a principal with EY Parthenon, Ernst & Young LLP, advises chemicals and advanced materials companies on strategy and execution. With more than 25 years of experience, he works with executive teams on growth strategy, portfolio optimization, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures and large scale business transformations. Prior to EY Parthenon, Heinroth worked as a manufacturing engineer in the chemicals industry.
Ask Questions, Wait For Answers
I've covered the chemical industry long enough to know the best conversations happen in the margins — not in press releases or earnings calls but during conversations where I pose a simple question and listen to the answers. That’s when folks talk about what's keeping them up at night. Lately, those conversations happen over Teams meetings because gathering people together in person is like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall. Conferences are a great way to get face time with people.
Podcast: The Hidden Costs and Risks of Cross-Training Operators
Cross-training process plant operators sounds simple, but execution is often flawed. Human factors engineer Dave Strobhar explains that effective cross-training must be based on job complexity and demonstrated competency — not arbitrary time requirements. Common pitfalls include inconsistent crew procedures that cause negative transfer of training, inadequate alarm management for operators returning to console roles and subjective assessments that fail to verify true proficiency.
Preparing Chemical Facilities for NATECH Events
When natural disasters strike industrial facilities, the results can be catastrophic — and most companies aren't ready. In this episode of Process Safety with Trish and Traci, Trish Kerin and Traci Purdum explore NATECH events, where natural hazards collide with industrial risk.
The Alchemist Signs Off
He's an international man of mystery. Well, maybe not so mysterious as he often writes about his time in the chemical industry, including his run-in with an overserved gent at a trade show. With his degrees in biochemistry and radiation biochemistry in hand, he parlayed his knowledge into a career as a well-known, award-winning writer. But he is international – living in East Mayo, Ireland, tending to his menagerie of critters and renting out his holiday cottage to guests from all over the world.
Supreme Court Strips Trump's Emergency Tariff Authority
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 today that President Trump lacked the authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a decision with immediate consequences for chemical manufacturers, pharma input sourcing and global supply contracts.
Podcast: Train Operators for Real-World Chaos, Not Perfection
Chemical processing operators need training that mirrors real-world conditions, not idealized scenarios. The final six guidelines from Walter Schneider's research emphasize maintaining motivation through consequences, presenting complex contexts with distractions, intermixing tasks to build switching skills and incorporating time pressure.
Podcast: Revalidating Process Hazard Analysis: Getting Real Value
In this episode, Trish Kerin and Traci Purdum explore process hazard analysis revalidations and how to make them more effective. Kerin explains the difference between redoing a PHA and revalidating existing assessments, introducing the Delta HAZOP methodology that focuses on creeping change in facilities. She discusses triggers for revalidation, from legislative requirements to significant operational changes, and emphasizes the importance of selecting the right team and methodology.
Podcast: eChem Expo Brings High-Value Training to Manufacturers
eChem Expo, recently acquired by Chemical Processing’s parent company EndeavorB2B, returns April 7-9, 2026, in Kingsport, Tennessee. Conference Director Damon Shackelford discusses the event's evolution from a regional gathering to a comprehensive three-part experience featuring an expo floor with nearly 200 vendors, professional conference sessions and technical seminars.
5 Quick Questions with David Russell, Environmental Engineer & Expert Witness
David Russell, founder of Global Environmental Operations Inc. and a frequent contributor to Chemical Processing, has over 50 years of experience in environmental engineering. A registered professional engineer in multiple states, he specializes in hazardous waste management and pollution control across six continents. David serves as an expert witness in high-profile cases, including Chevron v. Donziger.
Top of Mind Last Month: Amid Regulatory Uncertainty, Chemical Industry Navigates Innovation
Executive Editor Jonathan Katz launched a new "Research Revisited" series examining how cutting-edge chemical research has progressed since initial coverage. Rice University researchers are advancing photocatalytic processes that enable cleaner, more efficient synthesis of chemical building blocks.
Podcast: Challenger Disaster 40 Years Later— The Deadly Cost of Reversing Safety Burden
Welcome to Process Safety with Trish and Traci, the podcast that for the past seven years has shared insights from past incidents to help avoid future events. Please subscribe to this free, award-winning podcast on your favorite platform so you can keep learning with Trish and me. I'm Traci Purdom, editor-in-chief of Chemical Processing, and joining me as always is Trish Keirn, director of Lead Like Kerin. Happy 2026, Trish. What are you looking forward to this year?
Podcast: Master 5 Critical Guidelines for Effective Operator Training
In this Chemical Processing podcast, Traci Purdum and Dave Strobhar discuss training guidelines for operators. They cover five of 11 guidelines based on Walter Schneider's research: promoting consistent processing to build automaticity (where tasks become automatic), designing training for repeated practice of critical skills, avoiding memory overload through reference materials, varying training conditions to match real-world scenarios, and maintaining active trainee participation.
Podcast: Fail-Safe Pump Technology Wins Vaaler Award
This episode of Distilled features the final 2025 Vaaler Award winner: Flowserve's INNOMAG TB-MAG Dual Drive. This sealless pump technology provides secondary containment through the pump itself rather than the motor, unlike canned motor pumps. The system prevents catastrophic leaks of toxic and corrosive fluids while handling up to 30% solids.
Podcast: AI Technology Autonomously Optimizes Complex Chemical Processes
Karthik: Sure. Our AI control technology, as you already stated, is based on FKDPP, which predominantly stands for Factorial Kernel Dynamic Policy Programming algorithm. Moving on, I am going to use the abbreviation, and I hope you and your listeners are OK with that. So FKDPP is a reinforcement learning algorithm, and the key of FKDPP is how fast and how quick it can learn — as one of the judges already stated.
Young Engineer Champions Process Safety Via Social Media
In this year-end episode, hosts Trish Kerin and Traci Purdum welcome Hayley Little, a U.K.-based process safety engineer who tracks quarterly catastrophic incidents on LinkedIn. The discussion explores origin stories in process safety, the critical gap in fundamental safety knowledge outside petrochemical industries, and the alarming frequency of preventable incidents in lower-hazard sectors.
Podcast: Corrosion Under Insulation 86’d by Sherwin-Williams
So right from the very beginning, we had market pull from one particular client who was having horrendous CUI problems. And when we actually did voice of the customer, the same was everywhere else. So it was in the chemical sector, in oil and gas — it was everywhere. And basically, they needed to get rid of traditional insulation systems and that jacketing, which is holding the water in.
Innovation Honored: AI Control, Advanced Coatings and Leak-Proof Pumps Earn 2025 Vaaler Awards
Figure 1 — Facilities can replace a wide range of traditional insulation systems, which can include insulation on compressors, process piping, coolant lines, elbows, flanges and other complex geometries that are often difficult to insulate with physical wraps. Sherwin-Williams: Heat-Flex AEB “Corrosion under insulation is a widespread maintenance and safety issue,” noted one Vaaler Award judge when evaluating Sherwin-Williams’ Heat-Flex AEB insulation coating entry.
Fermentation Technology Targets Petroleum-Free Bioplastics Production
Renaissance BioScience Corp. and Biome Bioplastics Limited have launched a two-year, C$1.5 million (US$1.07 million) collaboration to develop sustainable bioplastic building blocks using advanced fermentation processes. The Canada-UK partnership aims to create renewable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics for packaging, personal care, health and consumer goods applications, according to a Nov. 18 news release.
Buncefield Explosion: 20 Years Later, Critical Lessons on Tank Storage Safety
The Buncefield explosion occurred when a gasoline storage tank overfilled after both its level gauge and independent high-level switch failed. Gasoline vapor formed a massive cloud that ignited, causing significant damage to surrounding business parks. Fortunately, the Sunday morning timing prevented fatalities, though 43 injuries occurred. The incident revealed critical gaps in safety control verification, testing procedures, and maintenance regimes.
Chemical Industry Outlook 2026: Downcycle Persists, AI and Innovation Provide Some Relief
Amanda Joshi has more than 18 years of experience in business-to-business publishing for both print and digital content. Before joining Chemical Processing, she worked with Manufacturing.net and Electrical Contracting Products. She’s a versatile, award-winning editor with experience in writing and editing technical content, executing marketing strategy, developing new products, attending industry events and developing customer relationships.
October's Top Articles: AI-Driven R&D, Safety Protocols, Energy Efficiency & Regulatory Updates
October's Top Articles: AI-Driven R&D, Safety Protocols, Energy Efficiency & Regulatory Updates Last month, we explored how major chemical manufacturers are accelerating innovation timelines using AI, while others are addressing safety communication gaps and adapting to evolving regulatory frameworks.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with Traci
Contact Traci, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack