June 17, 2011

Incidents with relevance to process safety also

Two recent incidents have a relevance to process safety also. In the first, a patient reportedly went into a coma after she was administered NO2 instead of oxygen. The doctors involved in the incident have reportedly been suspended but their contention is that nitrous oxide was filled by mistake in the oxygen cylinder. Ensure your gas cylinders are properly colour coded and you buy it from authorized dealers. Many plant accidents have happened when a wrong gas cylinder was connected and caused an inadvertent reaction.

The second incident, sent by Mr P.Vijayaraghavan, mentions that a housewife was killed due to burns when she sprayed insect repellant near a gas stove that was burning. Insect repellants are propelled by flammable gases. So are some hair sprays. Pressurised spray cans are also used in industry for dye checking etc. Ensure that people read the warning signs written on the cans before they use the can.
Please spread this message. It may save a life.

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