Not adding solvent causes a reactor explosion

A fatal accident caused by an explosion at a pharmaceutical factory reportedly occurred during the manufacture of a chemical product called CMP that involved the mixing of two ingredients. The two chemicals were to be mixed in a liquid base of acetone solvent, which is used to take the heat out of the reaction, but it appeared that the acetone was not added, resulting in a build-up of heat and gas which exploded in the vessel.
“It is our understanding there was an unintentional operator error – he made an error in the sequence in which the chemicals were put into the chemical vessel,” said Mr Boylan, adding the explosion blew a 5m (15ft) hole in the building with debris ending up 150m away".He said the company had breached safety regulations by not properly assessing the risk and consequences of omitting acetone from the process. While electronic devices were available to control the mixing of ingredients, the company had relied on human judgment"
Read the article in this link.
 
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Crisis management in electronic times

A good article  called "How to avoid the Post Crisis Crisis" in the Financial Review is a must read for all those of you who are dealing with crisis management and communicating to the outside world after an incident. The other day, an incident in a chemical plant in an Indian company had the news reporters calling up the Chief of Factories and telling him that the reporter will interview him in his house to get the real picture!
Read the article in this link.
 
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Process incidents due to vehicular impact

The CSB had published a case study where a forklift hit a projecting drain of a strainer, resulting in the breakage of the drain, followed by a huge fire. Vehicular impact hazards must be assessed during operation and expansion. The CCPS has brought out a best practices guide to avoid vehicular impact accidents in process industries. Read it in this link.

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Tragic accident in manlift

A safety alert about a tragic accident in a man lift machine highlights the dangers if it is not properly used. A person operating the manlift was killed when he got caught between the manlift and a beam. Read about the accident in this link.
 
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Inherent safety considerations

The National Science Academy has published an interesting article on inherent safety. The article mentions "The use of hazardous chemicals such as methyl isocyanate can be a significant concern to the residents of communities adjacent to chemical facilities, but is often an integral, necessary part of the chemical manufacturing process. In order to ensure that chemical manufacturing takes place in a manner that is safe for workers, members of the local community, and the environment, the philosophy of inherently safer processing can be used to identify opportunities
to eliminate or reduce the hazards associated with chemical processing. However, the concepts of inherently safer process analysis have not yet been adopted in all chemical manufacturing plants. This report presents a possible framework to help plant managers choose between alternative processing options—considering factors such as environmental impact and product yield as well as safety—to develop a chemical manufacturing system.
Read the report in this link.


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Fatal accident in DAP plant

A fatal accident in a DAP manufacturing complex in the US is reportedly due to a  steam turbine explosion. The plant had experienced another fatality a few days prior to this incident. Read and see the video in this link.
Second industrial accident death at Mississippi Phosphates - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi


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"Get serious about safety"

An article in the Bangkok Post highlights lack of seriousness about safety. The article has similarities to what is happening in India. The recent train accident in Andhra Pradesh has the routine court of inquiry instituted but we never know the outcome of the inquiry! Read the nice article in this link.

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Risk management - Financial Vs Process safety

An article about the recent financial issue in a leading company mentions that a shareholder group warned the management that risk management was not up to the mark. The group also mentioned that there was no person with adequate financial expertise in the risk management committee. Chemical manufacturing companies also need to have persons with expertise in manufacturing and process safety in their risk management committees. Risk cannot be managed unless it is understood. Read the article in this link.

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Prevention of corrosion

Tata Steel (Corus) has brought out a good primer on "The Prevention of corrosion on structural steelwork". It succinctly explains the basics and helps to preserve asset integrity. Download it from this link.
 
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Steam reforming disasters

John R Brightling, Peter V Broadhurst and Mike P Roberts of Johnson Matthey Catalysts have written a good article called "Catalyst catastrophes in hydrogen plants". It is good reading for all those who operate steam reformers. Time and again, I see the same mistakes being repeated - lack of flow through tubes, bypassing of furnace high pressure trips, lack of close monitoring of the reformer during start up and deviations from SOP.
Read the article in this link.
  
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Sulphuric acid safety

NorFalco have published a good guide to sulphuric acid manufacture, handling and storage. Many explosions have recently taken place in sulphuric acid tanks due to generation of hydrogen. The guide mentions the following:
"Storage tanks for sulfuric acid in strengths of 93% through 99% are usually fabricated from carbon steel. At normal temperatures there is usually some gradual corrosion on carbon steel that results in the evolution of hydrogen gas and the formation of an iron sulfate precipitate, most of which settles to the bottom of the tank. Wall thickness should be carefully calculated to provide corrosion allowances and for the high specific gravity of the acid. Smaller storage tanks (under 10,000 gallons) are sometimes constructed from stainless steel or a type of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) made especially for sulfuric acid service. Such materials reduce or eliminate hydrogen and iron-sulfate generation. Regardless of the material your tank is constructed from, always ensure that it has been designed and manufactured specifically for sulfuric acid. Many storage tanks use anodic protection systems to minimize corrosion. Storage tank cleaning and inspection procedures are available on request from NorFalco .
HYDROGEN GAS: Hydrogen gas is potentially explosive and special care must be taken when working near tanks or performing maintenance on tanks. A hydrogen meter and spark proof tools and lights should be used, and open flames and welding should be avoided. 
CORROSION, INSPECTION AND CLEANING: A program of routine internal inspection should be established to ensure early detection of excessive corrosion. It is necessary to clean out the tanks at regular intervals to allow for inspection. A suggested minimum frequency is every 3 years for tanks containing hot acid and every 5 years for tanks containing cold acid".
Read the complete guide in this link.
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Innovative solution for changing flange bolts online

I came across an article that mentions an innovative solution to replace flange bolts online.
The article mentions that "Stork’s technology hydraulically clamps pressurised bolted pipeline flanges together so that corroded stud bolts can be safely removed without exerting additional force to the gaskets. Once all of the bolts have been replaced, the hot bolt clamps are de-pressurised and removed. Change out of the bolts is achieved without taking the flanges out of operation, disruption to the standard line pressure or danger of hydrocarbon release".

I am not endorsing the product but you can read more about it in this link.

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