PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT BY B.KARTHIKEYAN
The June 2025 process safety beacon talks about an incident that I had experienced with a locked spring hanger. Read the beacon in this link https://ccps.aiche.org/resources/process-safety-beacon/archives/2025/june/english
Piping Technology and products have published a safety alert explaining "
Read it in this link
https://pipingtech.com/resources/technical-bulletins/safety-alert-installation-spring-supports/
On February 24, 2023, at 9:20 a.m., an accidental release of approximately two gallons of a sodium hydroxide and water solution (“caustic solution”) seriously injured an employee at a facility in South Carolina.
A new pump for unloading caustic solutions from tank trucks was installed at the facility the day before the incident. On the day of the incident, the company used the new pump for the first time. Employees turned on the pump to begin transferring the caustic solution from a tank truck, but the pump failed to move fluid and leaked. The employees planned to disassemble the pump to identify the operational problem.
Before disassembling the pump, it was decided to flush it out with water from a fire hose. This action was taken to prevent employees from getting the caustic solution on their hands when the pump was disassembled. An employee connected a fire hose to the pump and partially opened the valve. The pump could not handle the pressure supplied by the firewater, and the plastic pump casing cracked. Caustic solution and water sprayed out of the pump, seriously injuring one employee.
After the incident, the company modified its caustic unloading system, eliminating the need for an unloading pump.
Probable Cause
Based on the company's investigation, the CSB determined that the probable cause of the incident was the overpressure of a pump casing after pressurized firewater was introduced to the pump.
Source:CSB.gov