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June 20, 2011

Global warming and process safety

Just like the scare caused by the Y2K bug, today, chemical industries need to factor in the changes in weather due to global warming. The CSB narrated an incident where there was a propane release due to water freezing in a piping dead leg due to unusually cold weather. When the ice formed, the pipe expanded, cracked and later, when ambient temperature increased, propane came out of the crack and caused a major fire.
A news article reports another incident where a chlorine release occurred due to the freezing of a regulator due to cold weather. Though in India, we do not face such low temperatures, chemical operators must make themselves familiar with the pour points of liquids. Maybe in the not so distant future, we will be having snow and ice in India too!
Read the incident in this link

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