A driver was fatally asphyxiated during commissioning of a nitrogen customer station. The customer station tank was located in a pit that was not recognized as a confined space by the design team, distribution operation team or the driver. The driver was sent to do the commissioning by himself.
During the commissioning the driver made a mistake in opening the liquid supply line valve, instead of the gas vent valve, for purging and cool down of the tank. It is believed he did not immediately notice the valving error partially due to a modified manifold that allowed gas to vent from an uncapped drain in the liquid supply line. When the driver opened the valve gas started venting as would normally occur except from the wrong location. Once he noticed that liquid rather than gas venting, he went into the pit to correct the valving error. At this point he walked into a nitrogen rich/oxygen deficient atmosphere.
Source:EIGA
During the commissioning the driver made a mistake in opening the liquid supply line valve, instead of the gas vent valve, for purging and cool down of the tank. It is believed he did not immediately notice the valving error partially due to a modified manifold that allowed gas to vent from an uncapped drain in the liquid supply line. When the driver opened the valve gas started venting as would normally occur except from the wrong location. Once he noticed that liquid rather than gas venting, he went into the pit to correct the valving error. At this point he walked into a nitrogen rich/oxygen deficient atmosphere.
Source:EIGA
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