In an article in the Hindu dated August 27,2013, it quotes a top official of HPCL saying "in fact such an accident is first of its kind in the world history. A blast of this kind in the cooling tower in unheard of”.
For those in the process industry, gas leaks into cooling towers are not a one off affair. Heat exchanger tube leaks can cause a surge of gas into cooling towers. I had experienced one such incident 30 years ago. Dr Trevor Kletz, in his book " What Went Wrong" mentions under the category "Heat Exchangers", in page 105, the following incident "A leak in another heat exchanger allowed flammable gas to enter a cooling water return line. Welding, which was being carried out on the cooling tower ignited the gas. The atmosphere in the cooling tower had been tested before work started, 5 hours earlier"
Cooling towers are often falsely thought to be harmless, but they can become killing towers in no time.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
For those in the process industry, gas leaks into cooling towers are not a one off affair. Heat exchanger tube leaks can cause a surge of gas into cooling towers. I had experienced one such incident 30 years ago. Dr Trevor Kletz, in his book " What Went Wrong" mentions under the category "Heat Exchangers", in page 105, the following incident "A leak in another heat exchanger allowed flammable gas to enter a cooling water return line. Welding, which was being carried out on the cooling tower ignited the gas. The atmosphere in the cooling tower had been tested before work started, 5 hours earlier"
Cooling towers are often falsely thought to be harmless, but they can become killing towers in no time.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
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