H2S leak at manganese plant in China kills 3

The dangers of toxic gases like H2S are often underestimated. Plant personnel must be always aware of the various ways in which H2S can be generated and its dangers. In a manganese plant in China, three people were killed due to a H2S leak. The manufacture of manganese involves reducing the milled ore, which is then dissolved in acid solution, followed by purification.The solution is then fed into the electrolytic cells, where manganese is deposited on the cathodes. Sulphuric acid, formed at the anodes, is re-cycled back to the dissolution process.
Read the full article about the accident in this link.

Bhopal - Pictures speak a thousand words

A fellow blogger had compiled various images of the Bhopal Gas Disaster and its continuing aftermath. See it in this link.

Purse String Management Vs PSM

Purse Strings Management (PSM!) has a direct effect on the management of process safety. Controlling costs is important for a company to achieve profitability. But the question that arises is - at what point does it stop? For example - maintenance budgets - how should they be allocated? Money required to keep equipment in running condition is one thing but how about money to assess residual life and scheduling replacements? A distinct trend in chemical process industries is the high turnover of personnel, even at the top management level. This has a direct effect on the amount of effort that a manufacturing head will take to ensure that money required for process safety issues is budgeted and spent. I am observing a dangerous trend of maintenance budgets not paying heed to process safety issues in many companies. Wake up before it is too late!
Many articles blame it on "poor culture". I would say it in one sentence "short term gains overriding process safety". No amount of behavioural change programs will help unless some one at the top is in a position to understand and recognise the risks that a chemical industry faces. The truth is bitter!

BP oil spill- Process safety and its Management

A news article mentions the following from the report of the presidential commission set up to investigate the BP oil sill disaster:
"A "complacent" attitude to safety and a cost-cutting culture by BP's management and that of its partners contributed to the oil spill that ravaged the Gulf of Mexico last year, the official US inquiry has ruled.
A pre-released chapter from the final report of the White House oil spill commission set up by President Barack Obama is scathing in its attack on management failure, warning that the cause of the crisis was "systemic" and that without reform of the industry a similar disaster "might well recur".
"Most of the mistakes and oversights at Macondo can be traced back to a single overarching failure – a failure of management. Better management by BP, Halliburton, and Transocean would almost certainly have prevented the blow-out," the report said.
It added: "Whether purposeful or not, many of the decisions that BP, Halliburton, and Transocean made that increased the risk of the Macondo blowout clearly saved those companies significant time (and money)."
BP staff are accused of making several critical mistakes, including the misinterpretation of a vital "negative pressure test" to check that the well had been properly sealed before removing the rig. The report said BP's "fundamental mistake" was its failure to exercise caution before relying on the cement as a barrier to the flow of oil and gas up the well.
BP's US partners, Halliburton and Transocean, do not escape censure either. Halliburton is criticised for failing to ensure the cement used to seal the well had been tested properly. Transocean, which owned and ran the rig, is attacked for not learning the lessons of a similar incident that almost led to an accident in the North Sea four months prior to the Macondo disaster".

Read the full article in this link.

One killed in explosion in chlorine plant

An explosion in a chlorine plant has killed one person and released chlorine gas in a plant in France. It is reported that "leak of water containing sodium caused this explosion". It is not clear what is meant by this. Read the full article in this link

Major fire in depot near Rotterdam

A major fire has been reported in a tank depot near Rotterdam. The facility reportedly has 10 tanks storing chemicals.
Read the article in this link
See a youtube video in this link

Refinery cited for multiple safety hazards

OSHA has cited Pasadena Refining Services Inc. with 21 serious violations for exposing workers to multiple safety and health hazards at the company's facility in Pasadena. Proposed penalties total $115,650.
"The serious violations include failing to provide properly constructed scaffolds, provide supports to hold piping, provide controls to prevent valves from closing, conduct annual confined space audits, ensure guard rails are adequate, and ensure that operating procedures are up-to-date and accurate. A serious violation is one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known".

It is interesting to note that these violations have occurred even though PSM is mandatory.
Read the article in this link

Fire in oil storage depots in India

Thanks to Abhay Gujar for this info:
In the current year (2010-11) 4 instances of fires have been reported at oil depots in India:
A fire occurred at a railway siding due to spark from the overhead power line. Reason: Poor maintenance.
A fire incident took place at a Terminal's engineering store due to electrical short circuit.Reason: Poor maintenance.
Another incident took place in the cabin of TT at a Depot.Reason: Poor maintenance of TT and unsafe operating practices.
A fire broke out at a railway siding while loading.Reason: Unsafe practice and non-adherence to safety standards.The company has been advised by OISD to close the railway siding for all operations since it endangers the public life as it is close to the main Delhi-Kolkata railway track.

Risk factors in the Chemical Industry

An article mentions the risk factors identified by the American Insurance Association after investigating incidents in chemical industries. Some of them are mentioned below:
1. Factory site
(1) vulnerable to earthquakes, floods, storms natural disasters
(2) water is not sufficient
(3) the lack of public Fire Facilities support
(4) high humidity, temperature and other climate change
(5) nearby hazardous impact of large industrial installations
(6) close to highways, railways, airports and other transportation facilities
(7) difficult to safely evacuate
2. Plant layout
(1) process equipment and storage equipment is too intensive
(2) have significant risk and risk-free process safety distance between devices is not enough
(3) expensive equipment too concentrated
(4) the absence of effective protection
(5) boiler, heaters and other sources of ignition too close
(6) with terrain obstacles
3. Structure
(1) supports, doors, walls and other structures are not fire proofed
(2) Electric Equipment without protective measures
(3) inadequate capacity of explosion-proof ventilation
(4) plant is weakened (corrosion)
4. The risk of lack of knowledge of processing material
(1) hazards of mixing raw materials and natural decomposition
(2) potential for gas and dust explosions
(3) not understanding the result of misuse, or poorly controlled process
5. Chemical Technology
(1) inadequate data on the chemical reaction kinetics
(2) lack of knowledgeof the dangerous side effects
(3) does not determine the decomposition energy according to thermodynamics
(4) detection of process abnormalities is not adequate.
6. Material handling
(1) incomplete labeling of products
(2) in adequate Explosion detection/suppression device
7. Maloperation
(1) ignoring maintenance
(2)lack of supervisory role of management
(3) driving and parking plan is inadequate
(4) the lack of emergency shutdown training
(5) not establishing collaboration between operation and security personnel
8. Device Defects
(1) caused by improper selection of equipment corrosion, damage
(2) inadequate equipment, such as the lack of reliable control instrumentation
(3) material fatigue
(4) the metal material is not adequate or no inspection by experts
(5) structural defects
(6) equipment operating above design limits
9. Disaster plan
(1) did not receive strong support from management
(2) the division of responsibilities is not clear
(3) no accident prevention program
Read the article in this link.

Ammonia gas cylinder burst

An incident in an ice factory of an ammonia gas cylinder that burst killing one has occurred in West Bengal. It appears that the factory was located in a residential area and that the Municipality had renewed its licence. The article mentions

"Fire fighters risked their health and entered the factory on Saturday to repair the gas tanker. They lodged an FIR with Titagarh police against the factory owner. Officials of the Disaster Management Group (DGM) and BSF jawans also reached the spot as the tanker repair continued under their supervision. Fire officials complained that the ice factory was being run illegally in a crowded area.
"All the tankers and cylinders containing gas were in use for a long time. They had not been changed despite many tankers and cylinders being outdated. There was also no fire prevention arrangement there," said S Dubey, a senior fire official of North Barrackpore".
I often see gas cylinders being transported in autorickshaws with the cylinder cap protruding out. Authorities must be trained on the dangers of gas cylinders and its handling and transport.
Read more in these links: Link 1, Link 2

Natural gas pipeline leak from cavern storage

A natural gas pipeline that was connected to an underground cavern storage has reportedly leaked in the USA. News reports indicate that the gas from the cavern is now being vented to atmosphere.
The article mentions the following:
The following information is being relayed by Incident Command: As a safety precaution, we are still proceeding with the depressurization of the storage cavern as planned. The depressurization began about 3 p.m. Tuesday. We’re still venting gas to the atmosphere. This is a controlled process. The natural gas vented into the atmosphere will dissipate into the air and does not pose a health hazard to neighbors. Since 3 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday), we’ve vented about 400 million cubic feet. The flow rate is currently around 225 million cubic feet per day. We do not have an estimated timeline of how long the venting will take before the pressure in cavern 3 is zero.
Read my earlier post on gas cavern storage.
Now, I do not have the details of the leak but I was wondering why the whole cavern has to be vented.
Read the articles in these links: Article 1, Article 2

Incident Investigations in India - Aviation and Chemical

A news article mentions that an independent committee will henceforth investigate aviation incidents in India. The article mentions

"Currently, DGCA officials conduct probe into most of the accidents. "The same authority cannot be the prosecutor, investigator and the judge," said Zaidi, referring to the need to keep the DGCA away from probe into accidents.
In the last two months, the DGCA has been trying to make the investigation process transparent. For the first time in India, investigation reports of two serious incidents were made public. The first one was the November 2009 Kingfisher Airlines ATR aircraft runway overrun accident at Mumbai airport.

The second involved the Air India Express Dubai-Pune flight, which plunged several feet after the commander left the cockpit and the first officer could not handle the flight controls.
However within days of making the reports public, the DGCA had to pull them off its website after several technical questions about the quality of the probe were raised by air safety experts. For instance, the DGCA investigation report called the Kingfisher Airlines case a "serious incident". Going by International Civil Aviation Organisation's definition though it was clearly an "accident
Currently, DGCA officials conduct probe into most of the accidents. "The same authority cannot be the prosecutor, investigator and the judge," said Zaidi, referring to the need to keep the DGCA away from probe into accidents".
It is high time that accidents in the chemical industry in India are also investigated by an independent agency.

Read the article in this link.