An EPA study covering a ten-year period (1990 - 2000)reveals that of the 312 accidents at tank farms examined in this period it was found that operator error accounted for 22%. Additionally, 55% were attributable to tank failure, 10% to valve failure, 4% to pump failure and 3% to bolted fitting failure. Human error also accounted for 100% of accidents that resulted in fatalities, 88% involving stock loss and 87% of property damage, with the root cause attributed to overfilling/over-pressurisation.
Storage tanks fail due to a number of reasons including collapse due to vacuum,human error, poor maintenance, vapour ignition, settlement, earthquake,lightening and over-pressurisation.
Make sure your operators are trained in the safe operation of storage tanks.
March 31, 2010
March 26, 2010
Process safety - learn from these incidents
The Karnataka Department of Factories, Boilers and Industrial safety and health has posted accidents that have occurred in their state.
Four incidents are posted:
1. Confined space incident
2. Incompatible material incident
3. Accident in Urea plant
4. Toxic gas release in bulk drug manufacturing.
The details are available in this link. Please circulate to all your colleagues as the incidents can happen anywhere.
Some more accidents are given in a pdf file (large file) in this link
Four incidents are posted:
1. Confined space incident
2. Incompatible material incident
3. Accident in Urea plant
4. Toxic gas release in bulk drug manufacturing.
The details are available in this link. Please circulate to all your colleagues as the incidents can happen anywhere.
Some more accidents are given in a pdf file (large file) in this link
Labels:
Incident Investigation
Process Safety and Emergency Preparedness
I was reading about the two recent incidents of fires in high rise buildings in Bangalore and Kolkata and the high number of fatalities involved. In both cases, emergency escape paths were either blocked or locked. In a chemical plant emergency, things are much worse - domino effects can have catastrophic effects.Events will snowball quickly and unless you are well prepared, it will be difficult to handle a major emergency. All plant personnel should understand that mock drills are conducted when there is no emergency.In an actual emergency, Murphy's law will apply: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". A mock drill mentally prepares you for the do's and dont's.
Plant operating and maintenance personnel, especially those on shift duty must always keep themselves familiar about emergency alarm activation, escape paths, emergency breathing air escape packs and self contained breathing apparatus, crash shutdown procedures,emergency communication systems, what to do in total power failure and other possible emergencies.Most of the emergencies uncannily happen in the early morning hours when all shift people are sleepy and the general shift people are sleeping!
In some of the chemical units that I visit, the people assume that emergency preparedness is the job of the safety officer!If you want to survive in an emergency, YOU have to take responsibility and be prepared. Do not think it will not happen to you.You will not have a second chance.
Plant operating and maintenance personnel, especially those on shift duty must always keep themselves familiar about emergency alarm activation, escape paths, emergency breathing air escape packs and self contained breathing apparatus, crash shutdown procedures,emergency communication systems, what to do in total power failure and other possible emergencies.Most of the emergencies uncannily happen in the early morning hours when all shift people are sleepy and the general shift people are sleeping!
In some of the chemical units that I visit, the people assume that emergency preparedness is the job of the safety officer!If you want to survive in an emergency, YOU have to take responsibility and be prepared. Do not think it will not happen to you.You will not have a second chance.
Labels:
Emergency planning and response
March 23, 2010
Process safety - 5 Years after the BP incident
On March 23rd, 2005, the worst industrial accident in the US for more than a decade occurred at the BP Texas refinery. 5 years after the incident a news article mentions the following:
“Since the disaster, the company has spent more than $1 billion on improvements at the refinery, and continues to invest more. It's spent another $1 billion or so settling about 1,000 civil lawsuits filed by the more than 170 workers injured in the blast and by families of the dead.
“Those systems require constant vigilance. You start to think you've got it fixed, and eventually you start to focus on other things. If you let your focus wander too far, you're system starts to slip without your realizing it.”
“The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found in 2007 that the explosion resulted from a lethal combination of cost-cutting, a lack of investment in training and mechanical systems and a lack of vigilance in maintaining safety procedures. The company has implemented sweeping changes in process safety procedures and revamped how it operates refineries. Many of those changes have been adopted by BP's rivals as well.”
“The question that continues to dog BP and the refining industry: Has it done enough?It has rejected, for example, a Chemical Safety board recommendation that it add a process safety expert to its board of directors.”
“It took the explosion,” said Gary Beevers, international vice president for the United Steelworkers union, which represents more than 1,000 workers at the refinery. “As this industry has shown, it takes something terrible for changes to happen.”
My own observation of any big incident like this is that immediately after the incident there are a lot of things done. But the question is the sustainability of these actions. Time and again I have seen that unfortunately history tends to repeat itself unless top leadership are really and continuously committed to process safety.More and more boards of Chemical and refining companies are filled up with non technical persons, with the result that there is no one at the board level to explain to the board the repercussions of cost cutting without a proper assessment.
Read the whole article in this link
“Since the disaster, the company has spent more than $1 billion on improvements at the refinery, and continues to invest more. It's spent another $1 billion or so settling about 1,000 civil lawsuits filed by the more than 170 workers injured in the blast and by families of the dead.
“Those systems require constant vigilance. You start to think you've got it fixed, and eventually you start to focus on other things. If you let your focus wander too far, you're system starts to slip without your realizing it.”
“The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found in 2007 that the explosion resulted from a lethal combination of cost-cutting, a lack of investment in training and mechanical systems and a lack of vigilance in maintaining safety procedures. The company has implemented sweeping changes in process safety procedures and revamped how it operates refineries. Many of those changes have been adopted by BP's rivals as well.”
“The question that continues to dog BP and the refining industry: Has it done enough?It has rejected, for example, a Chemical Safety board recommendation that it add a process safety expert to its board of directors.”
“It took the explosion,” said Gary Beevers, international vice president for the United Steelworkers union, which represents more than 1,000 workers at the refinery. “As this industry has shown, it takes something terrible for changes to happen.”
My own observation of any big incident like this is that immediately after the incident there are a lot of things done. But the question is the sustainability of these actions. Time and again I have seen that unfortunately history tends to repeat itself unless top leadership are really and continuously committed to process safety.More and more boards of Chemical and refining companies are filled up with non technical persons, with the result that there is no one at the board level to explain to the board the repercussions of cost cutting without a proper assessment.
Read the whole article in this link
Labels:
Incident Investigation
March 21, 2010
Boiler burst - cause of incident at NFL?
Please see news item from Tribune, Chandigarh:
NFL tragedy
Ropar admn not informed in time
Megha Mann
Tribune News Service
Nangal, March 20
While the boiler at ammonia plant burst at around 11:40 am today, district administration Ropar was informed after 40 to 50 minutes of the incidence.
Confirming this, deputy commissioner Priyank Bharti said that even area SDM Lakhmir Singh was not informed immediately after the incidence.
“As per the protocol, the NFL authorities should have informed us within minutes after the incidence. But it took at least 40 to 50 minutes for the news to reach us. Fortunately, there was no ammonia leakage. Had it been a gas leakage, more damage could have been caused and informing us untimely could have added to chaos,” he observed.
However, official spokesperson NFL Naya Nangal claimed that the SDM and DSP were informed within 15 minutes of tragedy.Sources said that injured Umesh Kumar’s timely action of switching off main gas connection helped in saving many lives. Had the ammonia spread around, more losses of life and property would have happened.
The plant, where tragedy struck, was to be closed on Monday for 25 days maintenance practice. Annual target of NFL for urea production was 4. 78 lac tonnes and NFL had already attained 4.73 lac tonnes production.Daily production of ammonia at the plant is 900 tonnes, while that of urea is 1450 tonnes. NFL spokesperson said that company would meet its target with the help of other units. The unit has been shut down three days before the scheduled time due to accident.
Nangal MLA Rana KP Singh too reached the spot. He held the NFL management responsible for this tragedy and demanded a high level probe. He said that the fire fighting equipments at factory were not up-to-date. SSP L K Yadav asked people not to panic as the accident was result of some technical failure.
NFL tragedy
Ropar admn not informed in time
Megha Mann
Tribune News Service
Nangal, March 20
While the boiler at ammonia plant burst at around 11:40 am today, district administration Ropar was informed after 40 to 50 minutes of the incidence.
Confirming this, deputy commissioner Priyank Bharti said that even area SDM Lakhmir Singh was not informed immediately after the incidence.
“As per the protocol, the NFL authorities should have informed us within minutes after the incidence. But it took at least 40 to 50 minutes for the news to reach us. Fortunately, there was no ammonia leakage. Had it been a gas leakage, more damage could have been caused and informing us untimely could have added to chaos,” he observed.
However, official spokesperson NFL Naya Nangal claimed that the SDM and DSP were informed within 15 minutes of tragedy.Sources said that injured Umesh Kumar’s timely action of switching off main gas connection helped in saving many lives. Had the ammonia spread around, more losses of life and property would have happened.
The plant, where tragedy struck, was to be closed on Monday for 25 days maintenance practice. Annual target of NFL for urea production was 4. 78 lac tonnes and NFL had already attained 4.73 lac tonnes production.Daily production of ammonia at the plant is 900 tonnes, while that of urea is 1450 tonnes. NFL spokesperson said that company would meet its target with the help of other units. The unit has been shut down three days before the scheduled time due to accident.
Nangal MLA Rana KP Singh too reached the spot. He held the NFL management responsible for this tragedy and demanded a high level probe. He said that the fire fighting equipments at factory were not up-to-date. SSP L K Yadav asked people not to panic as the accident was result of some technical failure.