List of frequently used tank standards

 Read a list of frequently used tanks design standards in this link. 

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Refinery explosion video

In September 2012 an explosion took place at a refinery in Mexico. Cause is being investigated. A you tube video of the explosion graphically demonstrates the severity of explosions. It is reported that 26 people were killed. See the video in this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5EhjBd_lY0
You will see an operator rolling in the ground in the foreground after the fireball.

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Hazards of nitrogen

Last month I had mentioned about a fatality of a trainee engineer due to nitrogen. See a ppt on the hazards of nitrogen in this link. Share it with all your colleagues.

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SIS in field instrumentation

 Read a good article http://www.automationworld.com/sis-field-instrumentation


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Water reactive chemical incident

In 1996, an OSHA office investigated an explosion and fire which occurred at a custom chemical blending ("toll blending") facility, resulting in the deaths of five employees and the destruction of the facility. The report mentions that "The employees were in the process of making "Gold Precipitating Agent" by blending 5,400 lbs. of sodium hydrosulfite, 1,800 lbs. of aluminum powder, 900 lbs. of potassium carbonate, and 8 liters of benzaldehyde. Sodium hydrosulfite and aluminum powder are highly water reactive and aluminum powder in this quantity has catastrophic potential. Neither of these materials are covered by 29 CFR 1910.119. The employer's representatives stated that they relied on the information in the material safety data sheets (MSDSs) to perform a brief hazard review. This review failed to identify the hazards of that mixture. The mixing was done in a 125 cubic foot blender that had a water-cooled mechanical seal. It is very likely that water inadvertently entered the blend. Mechanical seals are known throughout the industry to be prone to this type of failure. Symptoms of a leak were noted and reported, but only to employees who did not know that water reactive chemicals were to be blended. A mechanical problem developed with the liquid feed system, which had not been checked prior to the addition of the dry ingredients. This caused a deviation from the standard operating procedures and the dry ingredients remained in the blender for a much longer period than originally anticipated. Water entering the subsurface caused the sodium hydrosulfite and possibly the aluminum powder to react, slowly at first. The large volume of powder did not conduct heat readily and the exothermic reaction intensified. In response to noxious gases being released, the employer decided to unload the blender, based upon the information in the MSDS for the finished blend. During the unloading process, an ignition and explosion occurred, propelling the vessel and its concrete supports approximately 48 feet. The pressure wave destroyed part of the facility and caused four of the five deaths; the fifth employee was killed by the ensuing fire, which destroyed most of the plant"
Read the complete details in this link

 
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The importance of proper jointing of flanges

Many major incidents start with a leak from a flange joint that then escalates rapidly when the leaking chemical catches fire.   A good article on the proper jointing of flanges and gaskets is available in this link.

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Ethylene Oxide Safety

The American Chemistry Council has  a good Ethylene Oxide Product Stewardship guidebook which should be read by all people handling it. Read it in this link.

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Sight glass accident

Thanks to Abhay Gujar for sending news about a sight glass breakage incident which has reportedly killed one person in a refinery in the USA. Read about the incident in this link.

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Hazards of operating pumps in dead headed conditions

A safety alert mentions the dangers of operating pumps with suction and discharge closed and the pump continuing to operate, resulting in overheating of the trapped liquid inside the pump. Pump explosion incidents have been mentioned in the alert. The alert sends me back 30 years when I was shift in charge in an ammonia plant and a naphtha pump had been inadvertently started  with suction and discharge closed. It was my night shift and I was making my plant rounds soon after taking charge when I saw a red glow. I rushed to the spot and the whole pump was glowing red. I stopped the pump and we allowed it to cool down. Guess God was my saviour as I would not have been here today if the pump had exploded!!

Read the safety alert in this link.

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Refinery fire - update

Chevron has published a update in September on their findings of the refinery fire at Richmond. You can view it in this link.

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Lessons from Buncefield

Further to my post on the anniversary of Bhopal disaster, I am quoting below from the HSE UK report on the Buncefield oil depot fire (2005) investigation:

"This report does not identify any new learning about major accident prevention. Rather it serves to reinforce some important process safety management principles that have been known for some time:
There should be a clear understanding of major accident risks and the safety critical equipment and systems designed to control them.

This understanding should exist within organisations from the senior management down to the shop floor, and it needs to exist between all organisations involved in supplying, installing, maintaining and operating these controls.

There should be systems and a culture in place to detect signals of failure in safety critical equipment and to respond to them quickly and effectively.

In this case, there were clear signs that the equipment was not fit for purpose but no one questioned why, or what should be done about it other than ensure a series of temporary fixes.

Time and resources for process safety should be made available.

The pressures on staff and managers should be understood and managed so that they have the capacity to apply procedures and systems essential for safe operation.

Once all the above are in place: 
There should be effective auditing systems in place which test the quality of management systems and ensure that these systems are actually being used on the ground and are effective.

At the core of managing a major hazard business should be clear and positive process safety leadership with board-level involvement and competence to ensure that major hazard risks are being properly managed"
 
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National Process Safety Week on anniversary of Bhopal disaster December 3rd

Today is the 28th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster. We still do not seem to learn from Bhopal. The same mistakes that occurred at Bhopal keep recurring in various incidents around the World. Production pressures along with cost cutting measures take a toll on process safety. Just like the National safety week in march, I moot the idea of having a National Process Safety Week every year on the anniversary of Bhopal for all chemical industries in India. During this week, the root causes of the Bhopal disaster and process incidents in individual organisations can be discussed with all  employees including top management. The root causes are again given below: They are still relevant today:
1. Do not cut costs without looking at the effects on process safety
2. Maintain all your layers of defense including asset integrity
3. Continually ensure that competency of personnel operating and maintaining plants are updated and current
4. Be prepared for the worst case scenario.
5. Understand the risks and measures to eliminate / reduce or control them
6. Learn from your past incidents. Those who do not learn are condemned to repeat the incidents.
7. Pay heed to your process safety management system audit reports

 I am again attaching the link of some pictures of the victims of Bhopal, lest we forget..........

" Mothers didn't know their children had died, children didn't know their mothers had died, and men didn't know their whole families had died" - Ahmed Khan, Bhopal resident on the Bhopal disaster
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The hydrogen explosion at Fukushima

 For those of you who wondered how there could be a hydrogen explosion in the Fukushima incident, see the good powerpoint explanation given by Dragoslav Nikezic of the University of Kragujevac in this link. 

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Sulphuric acid mist leak incident

A news article reports a small leak of sulphuric acid mist  from a DuPont plant in USA. Read about it and watch the video in this link.

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Pumps and process safety

Pumps are the lifeline for a chemical unit. Often we tend to forget the basics and this causes problems which may lead to a process safety incident. Read a good presentation called " Where can we go wrong in pump design?" by 
Dick Hawrelak in this link.

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Fire during transfer of hydrogen peroxide

Times of India has reported that " 16  workers and two fire and rescue services personnel were injured in a fire at an industrial unit in the SIPCOT industrial estate in Cuddalore on Wednesday when workers were engaged in transferring inflammable chemical hydro peroxide from a container imported from China into 190kg barrels and in transporting the barrels to the godown. One of the barrels slipped while transporting and the chemical inside leaked leading to the fire."

See a photo of the fire in this link.


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SUlphuric acid tank collapse

 An incident in 2005 caused a sulphuric acid tank to collapse causing 11000 MT of acid to leak out. The acid reached the sea and caused a reaction setting off a cloud. Luckily the wind direction was towards the sea and there were no fatalities. The cause of the incident was due to a bursting of a pipe (contents not mentioned) that weakened the foundation of the tank, causing the tank to collapse!
 
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Pipe replacement in refinery - update

Further to my earlier post regarding replacement of material of construction of the pipes in the refinery which had a major fire, someone has sent me this link for an update on the subject
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Chevron-pipe-dispute-could-deter-restart-4051867.php#ixzz2Clk9QVjJ


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Power failure causes SO2 leak

A transformer failure in a smelter in Australia caused a leak of So2 and So3 gases from the acid plant. Ensure that your utilities are well maintained as they have a direct effect on process safety. Read about the incident in this link.

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Pipe rupture accident in ammonia plant

A high pressure pipe rupture in an ammonia plant during start up has been reported. A news article mentions that d a contract worker who sustained lacerations to the head and another employee complained of aches and pains from being pushed against the wall during the pressure wave. Read the article in this link.

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Positive material identification

I recently investigated an incident caused by counterfeit material of construction. How good is your positive material identification system? Be careful as there are a lot of counterfeit material being offered at low cost which may be tempting to buy but will cause a major process incident later.

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Pipe replacement in refinery after incident

Chevron's refinery which experienced a fire last August has mentioned that they are replacing materials of construction of certain pipes with chrome alloy to avoid corrosion problems. Read the article in this link.

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Incomaptibility incident

An incident caused a fatality when sodium hydrogen sulphide was accidentally unloaded in to a tank containing dilute sulphuric acid causing H2S generation. Read about the incident in this link.

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AVoid Verbal Instructions!

A friend send me this. Avoid Verbal Instructions... no offense meant to anyone but it is a powerful lesson!

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Applying Tank Farm safety Standards for India - Honeywell paper

A good article by Honeywell India about Applying Tank farm safety standards in India can be read in this link.

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Industrial Control Room: The Control Room of the Future - Smarter Reality

 Industrial Control Room: The Control Room of the Future - Smarter Reality

 
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Worlds Largest ammonia storage tanks

For my friends in the fertilizer industry, QAFCO is building the World's largest ammonia storage tanks, each of 50,000 MT capacity. I started my career in ammonia plant in 1979 when tank capacities were 5000 MT!!
The new tanks are single wall with concrete containment.
Read more in this link.

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Tank design standards

I often see tanks not being given their due importance by process engineers when modifications are being carried out. Many modifications are done without the use of proper engineering standards. A tank failure can be catastrophic and a good article mentioning the basic precautions and standards to be followed is available in this link.

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Trainee engineer dies due to nitrogen

The Hindu newspaper has reported a fatality in a valve manufacturing company where a trainee engineer entered a cryogenic pit that was filled with nitrogen. It is sad that people continue to loose their lives due to this gas. Please share with all your colleagues. It may save a life. Read the article in this link.

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Bromine gas leak incident

Thanks to Abhay Gujar for sending news about a bromine gas leak. The Times of India reports that "Over 150 people needed treatment and three are in intensive care after bromine gas leaked from a pharmaceutical company in Dombivli's MIDC and spread over a 1-km radius area affecting over 2.5 lakh people. Anger and fear are frothing in the surrounding settlements as this was the fourth instance of carelessness with chemicals that has imperiled people in the industrial area in the past two months".

Read the full article in this link.

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Top management competency and process safety

I often interact with senior management regarding process safety issues and what I see presently troubles me. Over the years, the senior management in many chemical industries have gradually changed from hardcore chemical engineers and well experienced in plant operations and maintenance to those without a chemical engineering background and plant experience (finance and commercial background). Now this should not be a problem as long as the factory heads are in a position to assert their requirements in process safety and obtain the budgets necessary. But there is also a decline in the competency of factory heads in many units. The disease seems to be spreading and many future accidents are going to be attributed to this.
I don't know if there is a solution to this!
I would appreciate feedback from readers on how this works in their organization. You can mail me at bkprism@gmail.com
 
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H2S leak from oil well

Thanks to Vinod Kumar (my chemical engineering classmate!) for sending details of a H2S leak from an oil well which had reportedly reached Kuwait city. A news article mentions that the leak has been set afire to reduce the toxicity. See pictures and read the report in this link.

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Pipe opening hazards

Many accidents continue to occur when pipelines carrying hazardous materials are opened without proper clearing, resulting in accidents. The pressure to complete a job quickly results in major accidents
Read an excellent safety alert by the CSB regarding the hazards of pipeline opening in this link.

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Accident due to incompatibility

An accident in Germany has been reported due to the mistaken addition of an acid to a caustic soda storage tank. About 1400 people are reported to have been evacuated and the tank is being cooled. Read more in this link.

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Dead Leg hazards

A refinery in the USA has been cited for "not ensuring that inspection and testing procedures for process piping followed recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices for all dead leg piping circuits. The proposed penalty for the willful violation is $65,000".
Read the article in this link. 
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Another explosion in a Pharma unit

A news report mentions about explosions at a bulk drug unit in the Jawahalal Nehru Pharma City at Parawada. The explosions in apparently occurred in three mother liquid tankers and two diesel tanks.
Read the news article in this link

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Chlorine process safety

Please see a good presentation by Shri Harisaran Das on process safety in chlorine production in this link.

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Hydrofluoric acid leak in Korea

A hydrofluoric acid leak in Korea two weeks ago has hundreds of people evacuating. A news article mentions the following:
"The accident at a factory owned by Hube Korea, a local manufacturer of hydrofluoric acid used for the production of displays, has claimed five lives. More than 2,000 residents have also suffered from the effects of the acid on their skin, eyes and respiratory system, while some 300 local residents have opted to temporarily relocate".
Read the news article in this link.
A MSDS of HF mentions an incident where a lab technician dies two weeks after a spill covering 10% of his total body. The delayed effects of HF must be made known to everyone handling it. The MSDS also mentions that fatalities can occur even with 2.5% exposure of body area. The MSDS also explains how HF causes death. Worth a read for those handling HF. Read it in this link.

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Another reactor blast

A reactor blast has been reported at a bulk drugs unit in Andhra Pradesh on Friday.
Read related articles in these links
Link 1
Link2

Everytime an accident occurs in India, we rarely publicly get details of the root causes. When I compare this to the US, the CSB is doing a wonderful job by making all personnel aware of the root causes of many accidents in the chemical industry. If anyone has more details about the incident in AP, please share.


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Leak in breathing air hose causes incident

I read about an incident where a person entered a reactor which was under inert gas. He was wearing supplied air breathing apparatus. The catalyst was pyrophoric in nature. Unfortunately, the breathing air hose leaked when he was inside the reactor and his neck got burnt due to the pyrophoric catalyst dust that had accumulated on his suit.
Whenever you do an entry into a nitrogen filled atmosphere, be very careful and your JSA should take into account all possible eventualities.

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Hazards of Gas build up in drums

Many times, drums or barrels are used for storage of chemicals. Be careful about drums. They are potential time bombs if not handled and stored properly. In many places I audit, I see that drums are taken for granted. A safety bulletin mentions the hazards of storing chemicals in drums. The hazards include chemical reactions, decomposition, change in altitude or temperature, exposure of drums to heat. Read the safety bulletin in this link.

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Chlorine leak incident

FEMA of US has a good case study of a chlorine leak incident that occured in May 1991. It appears that the chlorine leak was caused by a brine leak that contacted the liquified gas. The mixture created corrosive acid which ate through pipes when product was transferred from the storage tank. Read about the incident and lessons learnt from this link.
 
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Duty time limitations for flight maintenance engineers

The DGCA ( Director General of Civil Aviation) has drafted duty time limitation for flight maintenance engineers to avoid human error. Much of what is mentioned in the draft holds good for chemical industries also. Read the draft advisory article in this link

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Firefighter dies in tank explosion

An explosion in an acrylic acid tank has killed a firefighter in Japan. A news article mentions the following:

"According to the city's fire department and other sources, a 5.6-meter-high acrylic acid storage tank with a diameter of 4.2 meters exploded at 2:35 p.m. Saturday when the company's fire crew members were spraying water on it. The tank that exploded is one of three contiguous tanks, and is the most southerly of the three. Following the explosion, the blaze apparently spread to the other two units.
Shortly before 1 p.m., a company employee reportedly discovered the temperature inside the tank was rising abnormally, prompting the in-house fire crew to spray water over the unit. However, the temperature did not fall.
At 1:51 p.m. the company called the fire department, saying dangerous chemical reactions could occur. At 2:05 p.m. the first batch of firefighters arrived at the plant. About 30 minutes later, the explosion occurred as they were preparing to spray down the tanks.
At that time, Yamamoto was reportedly trying to connect water-supply hoses for the operation, and was standing near a fire engine about 20 meters west of the tank that blew up.
About 50 to 60 employees and others were at the plant when the tank exploded"

Read the complete article in this link.


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Venezuela refinery fire - ppt

Thanks to G.Satyanarayana and Sanjeevi for sending details of the Venezuela refinery fire. You can see the ppt in this link.

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Asset Integrity policy

Maintaining the integrity of assets is of prime importance to process safety. Many a time, management looses focus on this important aspect. I read the asset integrity policy of Petrofac which, in my opinion is an excellent policy. I especially liked the last statement about responsibility and implementation.
Read Petrofac's asset integrity policy in this link. 
 
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Assessing Pressure Relief Needs | Chemical Processing

A good article on assessing thermal safety valve requirements is given in this link:

Assessing Pressure Relief Needs | Chemical Processing

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Crisis management

I read an interesting article in Forbes where an entire top two levels of the management team (50 persons) died in a plane crash. The article mentions how the new CEO addressed the issue and brought the company back into its tracks. Now this was not a chemical manufacturing company, but just imagine if the same thing had happened in a chemical manufacturing organization. Many companies do have strict travel rules for its top management to avoid this exact possibility, but in India, there is an inevitability about "fate" and often these rules are flouted.
Does your crisis management plan address these issues?
Read the article in this link.

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Process safety - Gasket failures

Gasket failures contribute to a large number of leaks and some of them could be catastrophic. With skill levels going down in India, sometimes a simple gasket that is improperly fixed could cause a big disaster. Are you training your technicians on the intricacies of selecting and fitting gaskets?  A good article by Garlock on the causes and cost of gasket failure highlight the various issues that are simple but are often forgotten.
Read the article in this link.
  
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Safety supervisor arrested in paint shop fire

A safety supervisor was arrested for a fire in a paint shop in a tyre factory. Another manager was also arrested for the fire that killed three Persons.
Read the article in this link. 

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Emergency situations and tiredness

An article in the Times Of India mentions that Air India cabin crew have started a campaign protesting the extra hours they were forced to work.The article mentions that the cabin crews alertness is most important in emergency situation and evacuations where time is of the essence. In a chemical plant, during emergencies, it is very similar to emergency situations in planes and the operating crew needs to be alert. When I was shift in charge and had operators continuing on overtime, (especially from evening to night shift), I have seen the errors committed by these operators during emergencies. It is a human need for rest and you cannot fight it. Look at your staffing requirements properly and ensure that competent people are available in adequate numbers.

Read the article in this link.


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Gas blowthrough incident

A gas blowthrough incident caused  H2S release from a tank roof. The cause of the gas blowthrough was due to a level control valve failure.Read the incident in this link.

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Pressure vessels and hazards

A US EPCRA newsletter highlights the rupture hazards of pressure vessels and their prevention in their newsletter. It covers case studies also. These are basic precautions to be taken for pressure vessels. Make sure you heed them!
Read the news letter in this link.

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CSB's Chairman's comment on refinery safety

In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chairman of the CSB has commented on the spate of refinery accidents and says "I recently read some comments in the media suggesting that "accidents will happen" and suggesting that one bad mishap every few years is acceptable. It is not. The oil refinery industry has the resources to do a lot more to enhance process safety and thereby protect workers, neighbors and the country's increasing energy needs".

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Refineries-must-do-more-to-improve-safety-3851977.php#ixzz26DCbMlQz

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Common problems in gas processing facilities

Mr Vimal Kumar has listed 22 common problems faced in gas processing facilities in this link. Worth a read. 


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Tower malfunctions - 50 year history study

A good article by Henry Z Kister on"What caused tower malfunctions in the last 50 years" can be read in this link.

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Responsible Care - to make it work in India

The accident at the fireworks factory in Sivakasi highlights the need for enhancing safety in the chemicals and explosives industry. There are two aspects to safety - one is voluntary and the other is enforcement. I want to talk about the voluntary initiatives. Initiatives like Responsible Care (trademark of American Chemistry Council) etc  are adopted voluntarily by organisations. In India, the awarding of the Responsible Care logo is carried out by the Indian Chemical Council (an organisation of chemical manufacturing units). The proof of the pudding in awarding the logo lies in the company not experiencing any fatal accident after the award of the logo. If any fatal accident does occur in a company that has been awarded the logo, then the logo must be withdrawn by the awarding authority. Unless this happens, the public are not going to develop faith in the process.
In India, for Responsible Care, I suggest that companies must adopt one more code called " mentoring of small scale industry" around the location of the unit. This means that resources for improving the safety in nearby small scale industries must be voluntarily expended by the company. This will have a trickle down effect to improve safety in the whole chemical industry.

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The importance of pre start up safety review

OSHA has cited a company in the US that produces of liquid natural gas through a cryogenic process." The incident occurred while employees were restarting the process. Cryogenic liquids were improperly routed through equipment not rated to withstand extreme cold temperatures, resulting in the explosion and fire.The willful violation is for failing to conduct an analysis of pre-startup safety conditions and systematically managing changes to process-related technology, equipment, procedures and facilities".
Read the citation in this link.

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More pictures of Venezuela refinery fire

National Geographic have some excellent pictures of the Venezuela oil refinery fire in this link. 

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LPG road tanker accident

Thanks to M. Sujith for sending news about a LPG road tanker accident that reportedly has killed 2 persons in Kerala. Read about it in this link.
I hope the lessons learnt are shared publicly.

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Major fire at Pharma factory

A major fire in a pharma plant near Halol has been reported. The cause was apparently a boiler burst. This reportedly caused a solvent fire. Read the article in this link.
 
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Blast and Fire in Venezuela refinery

News reports of a major blast and fire at a large Venezuela oil refinery are pouring in. 26 persons are feared dead. See the news report and watch raw video of the fire in this link
 
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Metrics and process safety

There is a lot of work in progress regarding leading and lagging indicators for process safety performance. While I do not dismiss the importance of the metrics, the problem is that unless the metrics are understood by the board or whoever is interpreting risk through the usage of these metrics, it will just be another non financial number. A dollar metric will grab eyeballs rather than metrics that tell you about leading indicators for process safety. This is the nature of humans. This can be avoided only by having technically competent personnel on the board of chemical companies. I believe things will improve only after it becomes legally necessary to have technically competent persons on the board of chemical companies and make them responsible for process safety management. Otherwise we will only keep seeing newer and newer terminologies but accidents will continue to happen and I will never be out of a job as a Process Safety Consultant!!
I welcome your views.

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Accidents in batch processes

The Safety, Health and Environment Association, Bharuch has posted several incidents on its website. One such incident mentions the following:
"Incident:
During nitration in reactor runaway reaction occurred and suddenly the pressure of reactor raised and explosion took place within few seconds in reactor. Manhole of reactor was opened due to high pressure. Nitric Acid, sulfuric Acid & Benzoic Acid were involved in reaction. In this incident the mixtures of acids were sprayed in process plant, company ground and nearby company. The roof sheets of plant were broken due to explosion. It was sprayed up to about 200 – 300 meters in down wind direction
Cause of Accident:
As per information received from company officials the explosion occurred due to runaway reaction during nitration from reactor of process plant.
Corrective Action
Lime was sprayed on the acidic mixture in whole the affected area in company & on the road also for neutralization. After that the road was washed out with water. Company people also sprayed lime on the acid mixture in their company ground & Process Plant.
Preventive Action
1. Process parameters to be followed strictly.
2. PRV & safety valve to be maintained in working condition with proper venting system.
3. Periodical maintenance & inspection should be done.
4. Employees should be trained in process safety.
5. Laboratory Study for knowledge relative to normal & abnormal known deviation in raw material, Process parameter"

Read more incidents on their website in this link.

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Reducing solvent in batch reactors

Have you done proper analysis before you try to reduce solvents in batch reactors and replace them with more raw material in a bid to increase capacity? An article mentions about the solvent effect on peroxide decomposition and concludes with the following:
"This study is focused on runaway decompositions as they’re more interesting in plant safety and risk analysis, because in the past they have been the cause of severe accidents. In particular solvent influence has been analyzed, proving that a solvent change has always to be tested before applied in reactor scale in order to avoid an anomalous runaway behaviour of the reaction. Screening calorimetry allowed us to analyze these processes in safety and to gain useful results such as onset temperatures, ranges of temperature and pressure evolved by reactions and others. Remember that screening equipments are not adiabatic and data have to be validated by tests run in adiabatic and reaction calorimeters, where real operational conditions (such as agitation and heat transfer) can be simulated; the use of the TSu makes it possible to save time and reduce the number of experiments with laboratory scale calorimeters".

Read the article in this link. 

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Another tank blows its roof!

An explosion in a 80KL emulsifier tank in an asphalt manufacturing tank in USA has blown the roof lid off the tank. The lid was thrown a sizable distance away causing damage to cars and structures. When you look at the video, please realize that many of your storage tanks that store flammable chemicals may be of much bigger capacity and you can imagine the consequence of an explosion in your tank. Follow all your company hot work procedures strictly.
See the news report and video in this link.


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Refinery fire - possible ignition source and some pictures

Initial investigation into the refinery fire in USA reveals that the possible ignition source could have been an idling  fire truck that was already at the scene prior to the pipe rupture. Investigators are also trying to find out why the  40 year old pipe that ruptured was not replaced even though an adjacent pipe was replaced in the turnaround a few months before the incident.
Read the news report in this link.
See "24 strangely beautiful pictures" of the  refinery fire in this link. You can see two plumes of smoke - one from the fire and one from the flare due to the emergency shutdown.

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Jaipur oil depot fire - powerpoint presentation

An excellent presentation on the IOC Jaipur oil depot fire and Government appointed Shri MB Lall's investigation committee recommendations has been made by Shri SK Roy, GM, HSE, IOC. It can be viewed in this link.

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Corrosion - cause of refinery fire?

 Preliminary investigations by the CSB indicate that corrosion could be the reason for the recent large fire at a refinery in USA. The 8" pipe that failed also had a 12" pipe connected to it. In a turnaround in 2011, the 12" pipe was replaced due to corrosion.  A news article mentions the following "The pipe that failed Monday dated back to the 1970s, investigators said, but it is still unclear whether the thickness testing conducted by Chevron in its last major inspections noted corrosion in that specific, 8-inch pipe". Read the news article in this link.


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Sulphuric acid manufacturing

You can download a good presentation by Dr Mubarak of Jordan, on sulphuric acid manufacturing and associated technical details from this link.
This will be useful for the technical training of operators in sulphuric acid plants.

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Fire in refinery

The CSB is proceeding to investigate a fire in a refinery in the US. The fire was apparently caused by a vapor leak. No one was reportedly killed. It appears that it was a cooling tower fire caused by a flammable vapour ingress. Read the news article and see pictures of the damage in this link.
Thanks to Sanjeevi for sending the link.
See a video of the press conference where the General Manager gets heckled by angry residents in this link. 

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Lessons to learn from emergency drill

An emergency drill was conducted at a production site in Terneuzen, The Netherlands.  See the photos from the drill in this link. There are lessons to learn even from the photos. Do you have the adequate emergency response equipment? Are your people trained to handle these equipment?
See the photos of the drill in this link. 

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An accident due to mixing of chemicals

An accident occurred last month on a work table where two employees were mixing red phosphorus and fiberglass powder. A news article mentions that "Investigators said the employees mix these chemicals on a daily basis in the manufacturing of igniters for military oxygen generators." Static electricity is thought to be the cause of ignition. 

Read the article and see the video in this link.

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H2S desorption incident

I came across and incident where three people died due to H2S liberation when old molecular sieves were exposed to water, that, in turn liberated H2S through a process of desorbtion. This incident highlights the need to understand the technical aspects of process safety which I had mentioned in my last post.
Read the incident in this link.

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Fire in chemical tanker threatened methanol tanks

A chemical/palm oil tanker Bunga Alpinia caught fire, while berthed alongside at Petronas Chemicals Methanol Sdn Bhd terminal in Labuan, Malaysia on the morning of 26th July. Apparently the tanker was discharging cargo when fire on board started from technical breakdown. Though the news article says the cargo was LNG, it was methanol. A lightning strike apparently was the cause of the fire.
There are a number of pictures in this link about the fire and fire fighting operations. See how close the burning tanker was to the onshore tanks containing methanol. They were lucky!

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Not learning from process safety incidents

An article in the Houston Chronicle mentions that "After the lethal explosion at BP's Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers in 2005, the oil industry boosted safety at industrial operations on land but never made the same improvements offshore, according to federal investigators meeting in Houston this week.
The Chemical Safety Board is set to conclude that the offshore drilling sector's focus on monitoring individual worker injuries - while ignoring bigger warning signs of "process safety" problems that could lead to emergencies - set the stage for the Deepwater Horizon disaster."
Read the article in this link. 
I have seen this phenomenon occurring in large chemical manufacturing groups. The lessons from a process safety incident in one unit in a large group was not learnt in another unit of the group. I was heartened to read an article in the newspaper today where a large pharma manufacturer is planning to appoint a technical head to streamline operations to a consistent level. The article mentions that "Underlining the importance of technical expertise, Mr Shanghvi said, historically, for example, senior people with a marketing background handled businesses and also manufacturing. But they would have limited technical expertise, and so the company is looking to separate the two and create a separate set of systems for manufacturing, he said".
I wish all chemical manufacturing companies give the same importance to technical competence as process safety does require a lot of technical competence to understand and follow. Read the article in this link. 
 
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Safety valves and vibration

A news article mentions that there is a dispute between BP and OSHA over spring loaded safety valves. the article mentions that "OSHA is concerned because improperly set valves can result in too much shaking, said Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. That vibration could cause the valves -which regulate the opening and closing of pressure vessels - to break.BP believes the valves "comply with industry standards and do not constitute a safety hazard," said spokesman"
The article also mentions that the total cost of the 2005 BP Texas city refinery explosion is 3.5 billion dollars.
Read the article in this link.

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Another manlift accident

After replacing a cone roof on a tank, the contractor crew was removing unwanted material from the work site using a manlift. The incident report mentions that "One item to be moved was a steel box full of metal parts, weighing a total of approximately 900 pounds. Rather than split the load into smaller lots, the Tank Service Supervisor decided to remove the loaded box from the roof using the manlift, so the box was rigged to the underside of the operator’s basket on the lift.
As he began moving the boom over, the manlift suddenly tipped over because the combined weight of the contractor and equipment in the lift basket greatly exceeded the machine’s posted capacity limits. The box hit the ground first. The basket the Tank Services Supervisor was in immediately landed on the box; the force of impact loosened the slings, detaching the box from the basket. With the weight of the box off the basket, the counterweight righted the lift, causing the basket to quickly rebound to about 15’ above grade.
The sudden, forceful, upward movement of the boom catapulted the Tank Services Supervisor out of the basket to the ground. He was wearing a harness and lanyard at the time, but had failed to “tie off” to the anchor point in the basket before he moved the lift. He was hospitalized and is recovering"
Read the incident report in this link.


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Process Safety and Road Safety

Everyday, a large number of tankers carrying hazardous chemicals traverse across India's roads. Chemical manufacturers and suppliers do take all required precautions during the transportation. GPS systems are used for tracking vehicles from a central control room. But the safety sense of other road users need to improve a lot. An article in Livemint mentions the abysmal  state of road safety in India. The article mentions that "The number of deaths (in road accidents) is equal to three jets crashing every day (410 human beings), but since aircraft aren’t involved, they don’t make headlines. Annually about 150,000 people die every year due to road accidents, and about 400,000 people get maimed, the cost of which is about Rs. 1 trillion".

Read the article in this link.
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Thermal imaging to detect gas leaks

A thermal imaging camera manufacturer reports that process operators at a high-pressure, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant in Stenungsund, Sweden are using a optical gas imaging camera to detect potentially dangerous gas leaks. The article mentions the following:
"In the LDPE production process - ethylene, a highly flammable hydrocarbon, is converted into polyethylene in a high-pressure polymerisation reaction.
Before the purchase of a FLIR GF306 optical gas imaging camera - Borealis used gas 'sniffers' - devices which measure the concentration of a certain gas in one single location and generate a concentration reading in parts per million (ppm). An operator of the FLIR GF306 stated "The main advantage of the optical gas imaging camera is that it provides you with the possibility to detect gases in real-time visually. Whereas sniffers just give you a number, an optical gas imaging camera allows you to detect gas leakage anywhere within the field of view of the camera."
Now that Borealis have a FLIR GF306 optical gas imaging camera they are able to do a quick scan at every start-up. With a quick scan - process operators are able to scan approximately 80% of the entire plant in about thirty minutes. To do the same task with gas sniffers would need a team of ten people working for two full days".

Read the article in this link
PS: I am not endorsing the product. This is for information only.


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Hot material spill kills two

A newspaper article reports that two people were killed when a hot material at 300 deg C fell on them when they were cleaning a boiler. When issuing confined space entry permits ensure that you conduct all proper checks for any residual energy that may be trapped inside. Read the article in this link.
 
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A day in the life of a Plant manager

I have been harping on the less amount of time plant managers are spending today visiting the plant and talking to the operators. Today Process Safety is being devoured by technology that is being pushed by vendors - including advanced process control, high funda instruments, SIL rated loops, software that promises just about to do anything including HAZOP studies, RCA's etc.., dashboards for monitoring process safety performance etc... While technology can be an enabler, ultimately, we need to realize one thing - there is no substitute for a plant manager to do his daily rounds and talk to operators.Today's plant manager has become a technology slave - be it answering e-mails from his laptop to checking his blackberry for bad news!
I was happy to read that in one major multinational in UK, the plant managers are compulsorily made "free" for the first three hours of their day so that they visit the plant, do a plant round and talk to operators and engineers. If you practice this, most of the process safety issues will be resolved.

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Confined space incident

Thanks to Deivanayagam Sivasankaran for sending a video of a confined space incident. What is striking is the immediate response of the man watch who jumps in to rescue his colleague. An accident in a confined space always has the capability to kill more people as would be rescuers jump in without even realizing that they themselves may be in danger. Train your man watched on proper procedures and what to do in the event of an incident in a confined space. It may save his life!
See the video in this link. 

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Fire risks of IBC's

Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC's)  are used to store and transport many chemicals. A technical advisory bulletin by Willis North America mentions the significantly greater fire hazard the IBC's pose than the classic 55-gallon drum or smaller containers.
They recommend the following:

1. "Protection alternatives should always be investigated (i.e., possible use of off-site IBC storage facilities, etc.).
   The indoor storage of flammable or combustible liquids in nonmetallic or composite IBCs in plant production or warehouse storage areas should be prohibited. 
2. Attempt to store IBCs at a supplier location and receive the materials on a just-in-time basis. 
3. Consider alternatives such as designing and installing a properly protected bulk storage and piping system.
   Consider the use of steel 55-gallon drums or steel IBCs.
   Determine if nonmetallic or composite IBCs are the only method for receiving and storing flammable and combustible liquids in your plant".

Read the advisory in this link. 

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H2S kills again

 The Times of India has reported that two people lost their lives after inhaling H2S gas at a sewage treatment plant. One of the persons who died was a rescuer. Apparently a job of cleaning a pump was in progress when the incident occurred. Six other people were hospitalized.Neither of the two men given the job of cleaning pumps had any safety equipment or gas mask.
Read the article in this link
See a video of H2S safety in this link.

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Fukushima and Process Safety

The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent commission has submitted its report. There are lessons to learn from the incident.One of the conclusions of the commission is " Replacing people or changing the names of institutions will not solve the problems.Unless the root causes are resolved, preventive measures against future similar accidents will never be complete. The Commission believes the root causes of this accident cannot be resolved and that the people’s confidence cannot be recovered as long as this “manmade disaster” is seen as the result of error by a specific individual. The underlying issue is the social structure that results in “regulatory capture,” and the organizational, institutional, and legal framework that allows individuals to justify their own actions, hide them when inconvenient, and leave no records in order to avoid responsibility. Across the board, the Commission found ignorance and arrogance unforgivable for anyone or any organization that deals with nuclear power. We found a disregard for global trends and a disregard for public safety. We found a habit of adherence to conditions based on conventional procedures and prior practices, with a priority on avoiding risk to the organization. We found an organization-driven mindset that prioritized benefits to the organization at the expense of the public".


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Runaway reaction incident

The EPA has shared details of a runaway chemical reaction involving phenol formaldehyde reaction. In the incident investigation report,the following recommendations are made:
1. Conduct a thorough hazard assessment
2. Complete identification of reaction chemistry and thermochemistry
3. Ensure human factors are considered in administrative controls
4. Facilities should evaluate capacity of cooling system with respect to controlling unexpected exotherms.
5. Facilities must pay attention to the order of ingredients, the addition rates, under- or over-charging, and loss of agitation.
6. Learn from accident history and near misses

Read the case study in this link.

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Update on reactor blast incident

Further to the reactor blast incident at a pesticide manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh, a Times of India newspaper report indicates the following:
"According to experts, there were no control valve and safety rupture disc in the reactor, which exploded following increased temperature. Sources said that employees were testing 'myclo vutanyl', which is used as a pesticide in the agricultural sector, when the blast occurred. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and trizol mixture of 8,000 litres in the reactor was tested by night shift employees and the sample sent to the lab. The lab reportedly was not satisfied with the results and the morning batch employees were testing the compound again. During the process, temperature in the reactor shot up to more than 150 degrees centigrade. The block in-charge noticed it and tried to address the problem but it exploded before he could take any action. The fifth block has about 30 reactors and tanks, sources said. A majority of the workers were on tea break during the incident. "Had all the workers been present at the time of the blast, it could have led to fatalities. Eighteen workers got injured as splinters from glasspanes struck them," a worker said'.
 While the root causes of the above incident are under investigation, when operating batch processes, many incidents occur due to lack provision or sizing of  adequate pressure relief devices. This occurs many times due to scaling up of pilot plant trials to plant production without adequately assessing all the reaction data and associated hazards. Have a proper management of change process to address these gaps in a robust way. Read the article in this link.


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A new refinery shutdown by caustic corrosion

 Reuters report that a new refinery in the USA which was being commissioned had an inadvertent slippage of caustic into the system. Apparently the caustic caused severe corrosion of the major equipment in the refinery when the temperature of the unit was increased as part of the start up process. operators came to know of the problem when they started having leaks and fires. The damage apparently is huge and about 50 heat exchangers have to be cleaned. The process hazard analysis of the plant should have spotted the possibility of caustic leaking into the system. While I do not know the reason for the incident, today what I see in HAZOP studies is the competency of the team is coming down and the net result is a poor study output. The onus is more and more on the chair to guide the team properly, No PHA software can do this for you.
Read the Reuters article in this link.

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Massive fire in pesticide plant

A reactor in a pesticide plant apparently exploded about a few hours ago. Many people are feared injured. Read the breaking news in this link.
See photos of the fire in these links:
Link 1
Link 2  
See video in this link.

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More pictures of steel plant accident

The steel plant accident has several probes working to find the root causes. An article in the Hindu mentions three probes - one by the factory Inspector, another by National Legal Service Authority (NALSA)and another by a high level committee to go into the accident and recommend measures to prevent recurrence of such accidents.

The committee, to be headed by former SAIL Chairman S.R. Jain, will investigate the incident and submit a report within a month. I hope we get to see the root causes from all these investigations.

Meanwhile see some more pictures of the accident in this link.

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Micro reactors and inherent safety - the future?

A press release mentions the following:
"Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal have developed a method for safer production of nitroglycerine: a microreactor process, tailored to this specific reaction. What makes the process safer are the tiny quantities involved. If the quantities are smaller, less heat is generated. And because the surface is very expansive compared to the volume involved, the system is very easy to cool. Another benefit: the tiny reactor produces the explosive material considerably faster than in agitating vessels. Unlike a large agitating vessel filled before the slow reaction proceeds, the microreactor works continuously: the base materials flow through tiny channels into the reaction chamber in “assembly-line fashion“. There, they react with one another for several seconds before flowing through other channels into a second microreactor for processing – meaning purification. This is because the interim product still contains impurities that need to be removed for safety reasons. Purification in the microreactor functions perfectly: the product produced meets pharmaceutical specifications and in a modified form can even be used in nitro capsules for patients with heart disease. “This marks the first use of microreactors in a process not only for synthesis of a material but also for its subsequent processing,“ observes Dr. Stefan Löbbecke, deputy division director at ICT. The microreactor process is already successfully in use in industry".

The use of micro reactors on a large scale will usher in a sea change in process safety. We will be investigating micro explosions instead of the major ones now!!
Read the press release in this link.

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Vehicle movement near flare headers

In March this year, a backhoe knocked a flare header off a pipe rack in a refinery in the USA, leading to a partial evacuation of the refinery. Flare systems including the flare header play a critical part during emergencies, start up and shutdowns. Ensure that you have proper engineering controls (vehicle impact protection) and administrative controls to prevent this happening to your emergency flare/ vent header systems including pipe racks. Read my earlier post on vehicle impact protection in this link.

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Accident at steel plant

Thanks to Deivanayagam for sharing pictures of the steel plant accident. The pictures show the extent of the explosion. The control room damage is also seen. The cause of the incident is being investigated. I hope the incident report is shared so that everyone can learn the lessons.A blast wave can damage everything in its path. Are your control rooms blast proof? See the pictures in this link. (Large file.... be patient)
 
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Pigging accidents

An oil pipelines was being cleaned by "pigging", which involves pushing a cylindrical plug through a pipeline for cleaning it. In this incident the pig was pushed by compressed natural gas. The pig got stuck in the pipeline and natural gas blow through occurred past the pig. The natural gas found its way to pumps and storage tanks and was vented through the tanks safety valves. Luckily it did not catch fire. The investigation determined that the blow through of gas due to a stuck pig was not considered in the job safety analysis. There are many other incidents when a pig receiver cover was opened without proper depressurizing and the pig blasting out, killing the operator. Pigs have known to be blown 100 meters away. Do a proper JSA while pigging.
Read a safety advisory bu the National Energy Board in this link.

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Bhopal waste to be sent for disposal

About 350 MT of toxic wastes lying in the Union Carbide Plant at Bhopal is to be airlifted to Germany for disposal, says a news report. I wonder what happens to the contamination that has already taken place in the ground water due to these toxic wastes. Read the news article in this link

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Heed your near misses and past incidents

A massive blast in a steel plant in Vizag has killed many people. Apparently the incident occured during start up. The Times of India mentions many other incidents that occured before the fatal blast. Heed your past incidents and near misses. No major disaster comes without warning. This is also true in the Bhopal Gas Disaster and the BP Texas City incident of 2005.. There were enough signals that something big was about to happen Read the TOI article in this link.

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Withdrawing of safety award

Thanks to S.Selvam for sending news that the British Safety Council has withdrawn two safety awards pending further analysis– including one endorsed by the UK's Health and Safety Executive to a company after it was brought to their attention about controversies including fatality at the group's operations in Orissa.
I am always of the view that if PSM or any other safety management system is to succeed, the proof of the pudding is no fatalities or injuries occur in that site or outside. I often come across organizations getting an award and soon after, a fatal accident occurs in that organization. Read the article about the withdrawing of the award in this link

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Using technology for safer confined space entries

I came across a presentation in a seminar by Matty Zadnikar of Z group which has used technology to ensure safer entry and monitoring of confined spaces. Specifically, their technology allows
Automatic access control
Continuous gas detection
Camera surveillance
Communication
Alarming
Wireless data transfer
Download the presentation in this link.
PS: I am not endorsing the product - this is for information only.

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Not adding solvent causes a reactor explosion

A fatal accident caused by an explosion at a pharmaceutical factory reportedly occurred during the manufacture of a chemical product called CMP that involved the mixing of two ingredients. The two chemicals were to be mixed in a liquid base of acetone solvent, which is used to take the heat out of the reaction, but it appeared that the acetone was not added, resulting in a build-up of heat and gas which exploded in the vessel.
“It is our understanding there was an unintentional operator error – he made an error in the sequence in which the chemicals were put into the chemical vessel,” said Mr Boylan, adding the explosion blew a 5m (15ft) hole in the building with debris ending up 150m away".He said the company had breached safety regulations by not properly assessing the risk and consequences of omitting acetone from the process. While electronic devices were available to control the mixing of ingredients, the company had relied on human judgment"
Read the article in this link.
 
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Crisis management in electronic times

A good article  called "How to avoid the Post Crisis Crisis" in the Financial Review is a must read for all those of you who are dealing with crisis management and communicating to the outside world after an incident. The other day, an incident in a chemical plant in an Indian company had the news reporters calling up the Chief of Factories and telling him that the reporter will interview him in his house to get the real picture!
Read the article in this link.
 
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Process incidents due to vehicular impact

The CSB had published a case study where a forklift hit a projecting drain of a strainer, resulting in the breakage of the drain, followed by a huge fire. Vehicular impact hazards must be assessed during operation and expansion. The CCPS has brought out a best practices guide to avoid vehicular impact accidents in process industries. Read it in this link.

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Tragic accident in manlift

A safety alert about a tragic accident in a man lift machine highlights the dangers if it is not properly used. A person operating the manlift was killed when he got caught between the manlift and a beam. Read about the accident in this link.
 
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Inherent safety considerations

The National Science Academy has published an interesting article on inherent safety. The article mentions "The use of hazardous chemicals such as methyl isocyanate can be a significant concern to the residents of communities adjacent to chemical facilities, but is often an integral, necessary part of the chemical manufacturing process. In order to ensure that chemical manufacturing takes place in a manner that is safe for workers, members of the local community, and the environment, the philosophy of inherently safer processing can be used to identify opportunities
to eliminate or reduce the hazards associated with chemical processing. However, the concepts of inherently safer process analysis have not yet been adopted in all chemical manufacturing plants. This report presents a possible framework to help plant managers choose between alternative processing options—considering factors such as environmental impact and product yield as well as safety—to develop a chemical manufacturing system.
Read the report in this link.


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Fatal accident in DAP plant

A fatal accident in a DAP manufacturing complex in the US is reportedly due to a  steam turbine explosion. The plant had experienced another fatality a few days prior to this incident. Read and see the video in this link.
Second industrial accident death at Mississippi Phosphates - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi


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"Get serious about safety"

An article in the Bangkok Post highlights lack of seriousness about safety. The article has similarities to what is happening in India. The recent train accident in Andhra Pradesh has the routine court of inquiry instituted but we never know the outcome of the inquiry! Read the nice article in this link.

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Risk management - Financial Vs Process safety

An article about the recent financial issue in a leading company mentions that a shareholder group warned the management that risk management was not up to the mark. The group also mentioned that there was no person with adequate financial expertise in the risk management committee. Chemical manufacturing companies also need to have persons with expertise in manufacturing and process safety in their risk management committees. Risk cannot be managed unless it is understood. Read the article in this link.

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Prevention of corrosion

Tata Steel (Corus) has brought out a good primer on "The Prevention of corrosion on structural steelwork". It succinctly explains the basics and helps to preserve asset integrity. Download it from this link.
 
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Steam reforming disasters

John R Brightling, Peter V Broadhurst and Mike P Roberts of Johnson Matthey Catalysts have written a good article called "Catalyst catastrophes in hydrogen plants". It is good reading for all those who operate steam reformers. Time and again, I see the same mistakes being repeated - lack of flow through tubes, bypassing of furnace high pressure trips, lack of close monitoring of the reformer during start up and deviations from SOP.
Read the article in this link.
  
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Sulphuric acid safety

NorFalco have published a good guide to sulphuric acid manufacture, handling and storage. Many explosions have recently taken place in sulphuric acid tanks due to generation of hydrogen. The guide mentions the following:
"Storage tanks for sulfuric acid in strengths of 93% through 99% are usually fabricated from carbon steel. At normal temperatures there is usually some gradual corrosion on carbon steel that results in the evolution of hydrogen gas and the formation of an iron sulfate precipitate, most of which settles to the bottom of the tank. Wall thickness should be carefully calculated to provide corrosion allowances and for the high specific gravity of the acid. Smaller storage tanks (under 10,000 gallons) are sometimes constructed from stainless steel or a type of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) made especially for sulfuric acid service. Such materials reduce or eliminate hydrogen and iron-sulfate generation. Regardless of the material your tank is constructed from, always ensure that it has been designed and manufactured specifically for sulfuric acid. Many storage tanks use anodic protection systems to minimize corrosion. Storage tank cleaning and inspection procedures are available on request from NorFalco .
HYDROGEN GAS: Hydrogen gas is potentially explosive and special care must be taken when working near tanks or performing maintenance on tanks. A hydrogen meter and spark proof tools and lights should be used, and open flames and welding should be avoided. 
CORROSION, INSPECTION AND CLEANING: A program of routine internal inspection should be established to ensure early detection of excessive corrosion. It is necessary to clean out the tanks at regular intervals to allow for inspection. A suggested minimum frequency is every 3 years for tanks containing hot acid and every 5 years for tanks containing cold acid".
Read the complete guide in this link.
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Innovative solution for changing flange bolts online

I came across an article that mentions an innovative solution to replace flange bolts online.
The article mentions that "Stork’s technology hydraulically clamps pressurised bolted pipeline flanges together so that corroded stud bolts can be safely removed without exerting additional force to the gaskets. Once all of the bolts have been replaced, the hot bolt clamps are de-pressurised and removed. Change out of the bolts is achieved without taking the flanges out of operation, disruption to the standard line pressure or danger of hydrocarbon release".

I am not endorsing the product but you can read more about it in this link.

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