Bhopal waste to be sent for disposal

About 350 MT of toxic wastes lying in the Union Carbide Plant at Bhopal is to be airlifted to Germany for disposal, says a news report. I wonder what happens to the contamination that has already taken place in the ground water due to these toxic wastes. Read the news article in this link

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Heed your near misses and past incidents

A massive blast in a steel plant in Vizag has killed many people. Apparently the incident occured during start up. The Times of India mentions many other incidents that occured before the fatal blast. Heed your past incidents and near misses. No major disaster comes without warning. This is also true in the Bhopal Gas Disaster and the BP Texas City incident of 2005.. There were enough signals that something big was about to happen Read the TOI article in this link.

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Withdrawing of safety award

Thanks to S.Selvam for sending news that the British Safety Council has withdrawn two safety awards pending further analysis– including one endorsed by the UK's Health and Safety Executive to a company after it was brought to their attention about controversies including fatality at the group's operations in Orissa.
I am always of the view that if PSM or any other safety management system is to succeed, the proof of the pudding is no fatalities or injuries occur in that site or outside. I often come across organizations getting an award and soon after, a fatal accident occurs in that organization. Read the article about the withdrawing of the award in this link

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Using technology for safer confined space entries

I came across a presentation in a seminar by Matty Zadnikar of Z group which has used technology to ensure safer entry and monitoring of confined spaces. Specifically, their technology allows
Automatic access control
Continuous gas detection
Camera surveillance
Communication
Alarming
Wireless data transfer
Download the presentation in this link.
PS: I am not endorsing the product - this is for information only.

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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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Take care of your structures

Are you maintaining your structures properly? As plants age, corrosion seeps in and is a deadly killer. Do not ignore corrosion. It can cause catastrophic failures.
A safety bulletin by the Minerals and Energy department of Australia mentions " In January 1998 a wharf walkway structure failed due to extensive corrosion when 6 men were walking on the structure. All men fell with the failed walkway structure 8 metres to the ocean, some suffering serious injuries. An investigation identified that corrosion of the failed walkway truss was severe and some cross bracings in the truss had completely corroded through. It was further reported that in 1991 and 1993 structural engineering reports had been commissioned and these reports recommended that repairs be carried out to corroded members on several walkway structures including the structure which collapsed. At the time of the collapse, none of the rectification work identified in those reports for this walkway structure had been attempted. The investigation report concluded “the walkway truss failed as a result of the mine operators inadequately actioning reported recommendations by consultant engineers.” Treatment plants may also be very corrosive environments and there have been several incidents where steel floors have collapsed. Where corrosion in structural steelwork is more than merely a surface feature or where the corrosion may have diminished the original strength of the structure, a structural design engineer should be employed to assess the safety of the structure. If remedial work is recommended then such work should be carried out immediately, or in accordance with the priority timeframe identified in the consultant’s report. Furthermore, employees should be encouraged to report cases of structural steelwork corrosion they identify. Periodic plate and weld thickness tests should be performed on all bins, silos and hoppers to ensure their structural integrity has not been affectedby corrosion".
Read the safety bulletin in this link.

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The causes of fires and explosions - 75 years later

75 years ago, this month, the worst airship disaster took place when the hydrogen filled Hindenburg air ship caught fire and exploded as it was completing its 35th trip across the Atlantic, killing 35 people. Till date there are many theories about the incident. The Smithsonian magazine has published an article that mentions "Realistic alternatives for the cause of the explosion include a buildup of static electricity, a bolt of lightning or a backfiring engine, but at this point it’s impossible to determine what exactly caused the spark".
Today, static electricity. lightning and backfiring engines are still causes of fires, though there has been a lot of development in each of these fields to avoid fires. The BP Texas refinery disaster was started when the vapour cloud ignited due to a back firing engine. There are numerous cases of fires due to static electricity and lightning. Though technology has improved, man continues to commit the same mistakes!

Read the interesting article in the Smithsonian mag in this link. 
 

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PVC plant explosion

 An explosion at a PVC plant few weeks ago in US has been reported.The accident forced area residents and plant workers to shelter in place for several hours. Read and see the video of the fires in this link.

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Using GIS for emergency planning and response

A news item mentions that "The latest version of the web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) emergency planning and response system, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), is all set for operations in factories in Mahbubnagar, Krishna and Nalgonda districts. Introducing the fourth phase of the technology here on Friday, NIC deputy director general Sanjay Singh Gehlot said, “the latest version aims to minimize damages during explosion or chemical accidents in industries.” The first phase the technology was launched some eight years ago".
Read the news item in this link.

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