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January 26, 2010

Hoses and Process Safety

The US Chemical safety board has reported an accident at a DuPont facility at Belle, West Virginia on Saturday. Apparently a braided hose connected to a one tonne phosgene tank ruptured. An operator who was exposed to the gas died the next day. For details see http://www.csb.gov/newsroom/detail.aspx?nid=302.
I am always wary of hoses in a chemical plant. They are silent killers. They may look good on the outside but may have been damaged inside. A facility that wants to ensure process safety must make a list of such hoses, their service and plan a program for replacement. Visual inspection of hoses may offer tell tale signs of hose damage. However, it is best that these hoses are replaced at a certain frequency even if they do not leak. Another option is to consider getting rid of the hoses altogether by replacing with properly designed piping.
I have witnessed a large fire due to a oil hose rupture in a gas compressor which happened in my shift about 25 years ago!The consequences were terrible.The whiplash effect of the ruptured hose sprayed oil over a wide area, contributing to the spread of the fire.

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