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June 29, 2020

Are you ensuring the integrity of tank roofs and gauging platforms?

When I was a shift in charge in a naphtha based ammonia plant in the 80's, we used to gauge the level in the tank by climbing up the staircase of the floating roof tank. The tank was provided with a gauging pipe, which we had to open and we used to drop the measuring dip tape with a brass bob attached to the end. We used to apply a paste on the tape, at the approximate level. After we performed the dip, we could observe the exact place where the paste colour had changed and that told us the level. All this while we used to stand on the gauging platform which was mounted on the tank roof. In my 40 years experience since, I have read and heard about quite a few incidents where the person performing the gauging fell into the tank as the roof and gauging platform structure were badly corroded and gave away. In one of the cases in an oil refinery in India, the body got stuck in the heavy oil and they had a tough time removing it.
Another incident reported in OSHA.gov mentions this:
"An employee was taking measurements of Bunker C fuel oil in a tank. He was going to access the tank through a hatch located on its roof. When the employee stepped on the roof, a section of it collapsed because of corrosion. The employee fell inside the tank and died of asphyxiation".
LESSON: Maintain the integrity of your tank gauging platforms and roof, along with the rest of the tank.

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