IIChE special issue on Process Safety

The Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers is bringing out a special issue on Process Safety and risk management to coincide with the anniversary of Bhopal disaster in December. You can view the call for papers in this link.

Safe distances during a BLEVE

Firefighters have to maintain a safe distance when responding to a possible Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion. A video in you tube demonstrates that for a 400 L bullet, the minimum observations distance is at least 90 M. But at this distance, they may still be hit by projectiles. See the video in this link. Worth watching for all emergency response teams. Another information in the video is that for a 400 L bullet, you will need 200 lpm of water to keep it cool, for a 4000 L bullet you will need 700 lpm and for a tanker you will need 2000 lpm of water...

When things go wrong – Parkinsons law in emergencies

A hydrocarbon spill occurred in a plant and caught fire. Sulphuric acid pipelines nearby leaked and were dumping suplhuric acid into the hydrocarbon spill. The sulphuric acid was breaking down the fire fighting foam used by firefighters and delayed the extinguishing of the fire.
In my experience of handling many emergencies, things will go wrong during an emergency. The better prepared you are, the better you are equipped to handle surprises.

Chlorine incidents

An article in the Scientific American highlights the following:
"Over the past 10 years, chlorine has been involved in hundreds of accidents nationwide, injuring thousands of workers and townspeople, and killing some, according to federal databases. It is second only to carbon monoxide when it comes to the percentage of accidents that cause injuries, according to the newest federal data.
 Chlorine is one of the most widely used industrial chemicals in the world today, with 13 million tons produced annually in the United States alone.
In 2009 alone, chlorine was involved in 181 reported accidents with 56 resulting in injuries, based on the latest report from a federal database called Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES). That amounts to 3.8 percent of all the reported chemical emergencies that year. Chlorine had a high percentage with victims, 30.9 percent, second only to carbon monoxide, which had 41.7 percent with victims. Roughly one-third of the states reported, and only for a part of the year, so the real number of accidents and injuries is much higher, experts say
Incidents are rare" in the production of chlorine among Chlorine Institute members, said Frank Reiner, president of the national trade group of 220 manufacturers and distributors. In an e-mail, Reiner said, "the safety performance of the industry has been very good" and his group shares information among members to avoid future problems".Read the article in this link

H2S leak in lubricant plant

A H2S leak has been reported at a lubricant plant in USA. It is reported that a small amount of the gas was released when an additive for oil-based vehicle engine lubricants overheated. Other news reports indicate that a tanker truck overheated and released H2S. I just randomly looked up a MSDS of an automotive lubricant and it does warn about heat as one of the conditions to avoid and also identifies H2S under exposure controls/personal protection.
Read the article in this link. Read another report in this link
Read the MSDS of a automotive lubricant in this link
Read a technical bulletin of an overview of H2S including its hazards in this link.