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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