Narural gas pipe explosion inUSA

A natural gas pipelines explosion in the US town of San Bruno has devastated the area.A news article mentions the following:
"The force of the explosion was large enough to level the area immediately around the blast’s epicenter. NTSB teams, as well as local investigators, are combing through the blast zone looking for evidence that will allow them to determine the cause. The primary problem with useful evidence in a fire investigation is the simple fact that much of it burns up during the event. Therefore, investigators have to look beyond the physical evidence to gain insight as to what really went wrong. Investigators are looking at the maintenance and safety records of the gas main in question, to see if red flags appear. They are also looking into the personal records of all individuals who worked on that particular section of pipe. This includes, drug problems and the general performance records of key individuals involved in the pipe’s maintenance.
Once the gas main has been designed and stringent regulations have been met, it’s up to qualified contractors to safely install the pipe. Lengths of pipe are specially welded together by trained pipe welders and this presents a potential problem. Anytime there is human interaction in the process of building something, the question arises; did that individual do their job correctly? The same holds true for the entire construction process. There have been numerous construction related disasters that were caused by insufficient materials, poor safety regulations and cost cutting. While there is no indication that these forces are at work here, the question still arises, was human error the driving factor in this accident? Mathematically, the odds are sadly in favor of human error".
Read the article in this link

How good and robust are your natural gas line inspection procedures? Are they getting implemented?

Abandoned cylinders and now abandoned tanks!

A fire in an abandoned tank in the Chennai port trust indicates that after the recent chlorine gas leak from abandoned gas cylinders in Mumbai port, we do not seem to learn our lessons. It appears that hot work was in progress in the vicinity of the abandoned tank when it caught fire. Read the full article in this link

Ammonia transfer hose leak incident

An incident has been reported where a ammonia transfer hose developed a leak in a factory in China. Hoses are the weakest link in any system and you have to implement a proper mechanical integrity plan in place to avoid incidents. Read the article in this link.

BP oil rig disaster internal investigation report

BP has released their internal investigation report of the oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The report is obviously an initial investigation on the causes and does not go into why the failures occurred. This is stated by BP as follows:
It may also be appropriate for BP to consider further work to examine potential systemic issues beyond the immediate cause and system cause scope of this investigation. The summary of the report findings are given below:
1. The investigation team concluded that there were weaknesses in cement design and testing, quality assurance and risk assessment.
2. The investigation team concluded that hydrocarbon ingress was through the shoe track, rather than through a failure in the production casing itself or up the wellbore annulus and through the casing hanger seal assembly.
3.The investigation team has identified potential failure modes that could explain how the shoe track cement and the float collar allowed hydrocarbon ingress into the production casing.
4.The Transocean rig crew and BP well site leaders reached the incorrect view that the test was successful and that well integrity had been established.
5.The rig crew did not recognize the influx and did not act to control the well until hydrocarbons had passed through the BOP and into the riser.
6.If fluids had been diverted overboard, rather than to the Mud gas separator (MGS), there may have been more time to respond,and the consequences of the accident may have been reduced.
7.The design of the MGS system allowed diversion of the riser contents to the MGS vessel although the well was in a high flow condition. This overwhelmed the MGS system.
8.The heating, ventilation and air conditioning system probably transferred
a gas-rich mixture into the engine rooms, causing at least one engine to overspeed, creating a potential source of ignition.
9.Through a review of rig audit findings and maintenance records, the investigation team found indications of potential weaknesses in the testing regime and maintenance management system for the Blow out presenter (BOP).
Point no. 8 is a repeat of the ignition source in the BP Texas city refinery explosion where a pick up truck took in vapours through its air intake and triggered the initial explosion.Are we learning from our incidents?
Read the executive summary of the report in this link.

Oleum gas leak

A news article has reported an oleum gas leak from a facility in Miami. The article mentions that a temporary evacuation was done and the officials do not believe much of the gas was released. Read more of the article in this link.

The BP oil rig disaster

A presentation in the Global maritime Congress 2010 by Clay Maitland about the cause of the BP oil rig disaster mentions the following:
What were the underlying causes of the disaster?
• Complacency and routinism; the tendency of those within a large organisation to avoid testing established policies.
• “Bean-counteritis”; a failure to examine constraints on risk management budgets.
• Collectivism; a conviction that existing company policy is, by definition, the best that could possibly be. In American parlance, this is often called “drinking the company Kool-Aid.” It entails a rejection of rigourous analysis of internal management systems,and their appraisal for possible deficiencies.
• A failure, from top to bottom, to subject these systems to outside scrutiny, in the manner of the International Maritime Organisation’s Member State Audit Scheme.
• A tendency to stigmatise concern for the environment as something repugnantly radical, “Greenpeace Socialism”, “tree-hugging”, etc.
• Most significantly, the failure to establish a risk control or safety awareness mindset at all levels of the corporate hierarchy,particularly at middle-management levels, and to effectively offset a “get it done, at the lowest possible cost” attitude at the “coalface”.
Read the full presentation in this link

Fireworks factory blast in Malta

An article in the Times of Malta mentions about a fireworks factory blast. the reasons mentioned are very true for the firework factories in India also. The fireworks manufacturing industry is unorganized and employs labourers who are not literate. As part of Corporate Social responsibility, the larger players in the chemical industry in India need to assist these unorganised and small scale players to improve their safety while handling hazardous chemicals.
Read the article in this link.

Fire in a parcel van in a train due to hexane

Thanks to VB Shritharan for sending this news and link about a fire in a parcel van in a train in Yeshwantpur station due to hexane! I am left wondering how the Railways allowed Hexane to get inside a parcel van! Read more of this article in this link.

Caustic soda and process safety

Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) is a commonly used chemical. Its main uses are in the manufacture of pulp and paper, alumina, soap and detergents, petroleum products and chemical production. Other applications include water treatment, food, textiles, metal processing, mining, glass making etc.
Caustic soda is a also a basic feedstock used in the manufacture of a wide range of chemicals. The Dow Chemical Co. has useful data on process safety aspects related to storage and its design.
Please see the following links:
General storage system guidelines
Storage tank design guidelines
Piping systems

Another fire in oil rig

Another fire has been reported in an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico,though it is reported that this rig was not in operation. The article also mentions that there are 3400 oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico producing 1/3 of the US oil requirements. Read more of the incident in this link.

Bhopal and BP – different approaches – different people

An article compares the difference in approaches between the Bhopal Incident and the recent BP oil rig disaster. “Both Union Carbide and BP received clear warning that their operations in Bhopal and Horizon Deepwater were not well managed and therefore had significant safety risks. Over 10 years before the actual catastrophe,a 1973 Union Carbide report signed by the Warren Anderson himself, highlighted that the unproven nature of Bhopal’s technology. In a 1982 safety review, Union Carbide’s own experts also emphasised the serious risk of substantial leaks of “toxic materials” at Bhopal. BP too received adequate warning of impending problems at Horizon Deepwater. A number of internal investigations alerted senior BP managers that safety and environmental rules at Horizon Deepwater were not being properly adhered to.”
Read the full article in this link.

Are your back up systems really capable of back up?

A report of an incident in an aircraft which suffered a cabin depressurization in flight and had to make a rapid descent reinforces the need to ensure your back up systems are working and reliable. It appears that the flight was operating with a single compressor feeding both the cabin pressurisation systems. Due to the high demand, the air temperature and pressure were higher. However the aftercooler was not cooling the air sufficiently due to a cooler fan problem. This led to the compressor shutdown on high air temperature and subsequent loss of cabin pressure. Read the full incident in this link.