Lessons to learn from emergency drill

An emergency drill was conducted at a production site in Terneuzen, The Netherlands.  See the photos from the drill in this link. There are lessons to learn even from the photos. Do you have the adequate emergency response equipment? Are your people trained to handle these equipment?
See the photos of the drill in this link. 

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An accident due to mixing of chemicals

An accident occurred last month on a work table where two employees were mixing red phosphorus and fiberglass powder. A news article mentions that "Investigators said the employees mix these chemicals on a daily basis in the manufacturing of igniters for military oxygen generators." Static electricity is thought to be the cause of ignition. 

Read the article and see the video in this link.

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H2S desorption incident

I came across and incident where three people died due to H2S liberation when old molecular sieves were exposed to water, that, in turn liberated H2S through a process of desorbtion. This incident highlights the need to understand the technical aspects of process safety which I had mentioned in my last post.
Read the incident in this link.

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Fire in chemical tanker threatened methanol tanks

A chemical/palm oil tanker Bunga Alpinia caught fire, while berthed alongside at Petronas Chemicals Methanol Sdn Bhd terminal in Labuan, Malaysia on the morning of 26th July. Apparently the tanker was discharging cargo when fire on board started from technical breakdown. Though the news article says the cargo was LNG, it was methanol. A lightning strike apparently was the cause of the fire.
There are a number of pictures in this link about the fire and fire fighting operations. See how close the burning tanker was to the onshore tanks containing methanol. They were lucky!

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Not learning from process safety incidents

An article in the Houston Chronicle mentions that "After the lethal explosion at BP's Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers in 2005, the oil industry boosted safety at industrial operations on land but never made the same improvements offshore, according to federal investigators meeting in Houston this week.
The Chemical Safety Board is set to conclude that the offshore drilling sector's focus on monitoring individual worker injuries - while ignoring bigger warning signs of "process safety" problems that could lead to emergencies - set the stage for the Deepwater Horizon disaster."
Read the article in this link. 
I have seen this phenomenon occurring in large chemical manufacturing groups. The lessons from a process safety incident in one unit in a large group was not learnt in another unit of the group. I was heartened to read an article in the newspaper today where a large pharma manufacturer is planning to appoint a technical head to streamline operations to a consistent level. The article mentions that "Underlining the importance of technical expertise, Mr Shanghvi said, historically, for example, senior people with a marketing background handled businesses and also manufacturing. But they would have limited technical expertise, and so the company is looking to separate the two and create a separate set of systems for manufacturing, he said".
I wish all chemical manufacturing companies give the same importance to technical competence as process safety does require a lot of technical competence to understand and follow. Read the article in this link. 
 
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Safety valves and vibration

A news article mentions that there is a dispute between BP and OSHA over spring loaded safety valves. the article mentions that "OSHA is concerned because improperly set valves can result in too much shaking, said Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. That vibration could cause the valves -which regulate the opening and closing of pressure vessels - to break.BP believes the valves "comply with industry standards and do not constitute a safety hazard," said spokesman"
The article also mentions that the total cost of the 2005 BP Texas city refinery explosion is 3.5 billion dollars.
Read the article in this link.

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Another manlift accident

After replacing a cone roof on a tank, the contractor crew was removing unwanted material from the work site using a manlift. The incident report mentions that "One item to be moved was a steel box full of metal parts, weighing a total of approximately 900 pounds. Rather than split the load into smaller lots, the Tank Service Supervisor decided to remove the loaded box from the roof using the manlift, so the box was rigged to the underside of the operator’s basket on the lift.
As he began moving the boom over, the manlift suddenly tipped over because the combined weight of the contractor and equipment in the lift basket greatly exceeded the machine’s posted capacity limits. The box hit the ground first. The basket the Tank Services Supervisor was in immediately landed on the box; the force of impact loosened the slings, detaching the box from the basket. With the weight of the box off the basket, the counterweight righted the lift, causing the basket to quickly rebound to about 15’ above grade.
The sudden, forceful, upward movement of the boom catapulted the Tank Services Supervisor out of the basket to the ground. He was wearing a harness and lanyard at the time, but had failed to “tie off” to the anchor point in the basket before he moved the lift. He was hospitalized and is recovering"
Read the incident report in this link.


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Process Safety and Road Safety

Everyday, a large number of tankers carrying hazardous chemicals traverse across India's roads. Chemical manufacturers and suppliers do take all required precautions during the transportation. GPS systems are used for tracking vehicles from a central control room. But the safety sense of other road users need to improve a lot. An article in Livemint mentions the abysmal  state of road safety in India. The article mentions that "The number of deaths (in road accidents) is equal to three jets crashing every day (410 human beings), but since aircraft aren’t involved, they don’t make headlines. Annually about 150,000 people die every year due to road accidents, and about 400,000 people get maimed, the cost of which is about Rs. 1 trillion".

Read the article in this link.
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Thermal imaging to detect gas leaks

A thermal imaging camera manufacturer reports that process operators at a high-pressure, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant in Stenungsund, Sweden are using a optical gas imaging camera to detect potentially dangerous gas leaks. The article mentions the following:
"In the LDPE production process - ethylene, a highly flammable hydrocarbon, is converted into polyethylene in a high-pressure polymerisation reaction.
Before the purchase of a FLIR GF306 optical gas imaging camera - Borealis used gas 'sniffers' - devices which measure the concentration of a certain gas in one single location and generate a concentration reading in parts per million (ppm). An operator of the FLIR GF306 stated "The main advantage of the optical gas imaging camera is that it provides you with the possibility to detect gases in real-time visually. Whereas sniffers just give you a number, an optical gas imaging camera allows you to detect gas leakage anywhere within the field of view of the camera."
Now that Borealis have a FLIR GF306 optical gas imaging camera they are able to do a quick scan at every start-up. With a quick scan - process operators are able to scan approximately 80% of the entire plant in about thirty minutes. To do the same task with gas sniffers would need a team of ten people working for two full days".

Read the article in this link
PS: I am not endorsing the product. This is for information only.


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Hot material spill kills two

A newspaper article reports that two people were killed when a hot material at 300 deg C fell on them when they were cleaning a boiler. When issuing confined space entry permits ensure that you conduct all proper checks for any residual energy that may be trapped inside. Read the article in this link.
 
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A day in the life of a Plant manager

I have been harping on the less amount of time plant managers are spending today visiting the plant and talking to the operators. Today Process Safety is being devoured by technology that is being pushed by vendors - including advanced process control, high funda instruments, SIL rated loops, software that promises just about to do anything including HAZOP studies, RCA's etc.., dashboards for monitoring process safety performance etc... While technology can be an enabler, ultimately, we need to realize one thing - there is no substitute for a plant manager to do his daily rounds and talk to operators.Today's plant manager has become a technology slave - be it answering e-mails from his laptop to checking his blackberry for bad news!
I was happy to read that in one major multinational in UK, the plant managers are compulsorily made "free" for the first three hours of their day so that they visit the plant, do a plant round and talk to operators and engineers. If you practice this, most of the process safety issues will be resolved.

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Confined space incident

Thanks to Deivanayagam Sivasankaran for sending a video of a confined space incident. What is striking is the immediate response of the man watch who jumps in to rescue his colleague. An accident in a confined space always has the capability to kill more people as would be rescuers jump in without even realizing that they themselves may be in danger. Train your man watched on proper procedures and what to do in the event of an incident in a confined space. It may save his life!
See the video in this link. 

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Fire risks of IBC's

Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC's)  are used to store and transport many chemicals. A technical advisory bulletin by Willis North America mentions the significantly greater fire hazard the IBC's pose than the classic 55-gallon drum or smaller containers.
They recommend the following:

1. "Protection alternatives should always be investigated (i.e., possible use of off-site IBC storage facilities, etc.).
   The indoor storage of flammable or combustible liquids in nonmetallic or composite IBCs in plant production or warehouse storage areas should be prohibited. 
2. Attempt to store IBCs at a supplier location and receive the materials on a just-in-time basis. 
3. Consider alternatives such as designing and installing a properly protected bulk storage and piping system.
   Consider the use of steel 55-gallon drums or steel IBCs.
   Determine if nonmetallic or composite IBCs are the only method for receiving and storing flammable and combustible liquids in your plant".

Read the advisory in this link. 

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H2S kills again

 The Times of India has reported that two people lost their lives after inhaling H2S gas at a sewage treatment plant. One of the persons who died was a rescuer. Apparently a job of cleaning a pump was in progress when the incident occurred. Six other people were hospitalized.Neither of the two men given the job of cleaning pumps had any safety equipment or gas mask.
Read the article in this link
See a video of H2S safety in this link.

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Fukushima and Process Safety

The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent commission has submitted its report. There are lessons to learn from the incident.One of the conclusions of the commission is " Replacing people or changing the names of institutions will not solve the problems.Unless the root causes are resolved, preventive measures against future similar accidents will never be complete. The Commission believes the root causes of this accident cannot be resolved and that the people’s confidence cannot be recovered as long as this “manmade disaster” is seen as the result of error by a specific individual. The underlying issue is the social structure that results in “regulatory capture,” and the organizational, institutional, and legal framework that allows individuals to justify their own actions, hide them when inconvenient, and leave no records in order to avoid responsibility. Across the board, the Commission found ignorance and arrogance unforgivable for anyone or any organization that deals with nuclear power. We found a disregard for global trends and a disregard for public safety. We found a habit of adherence to conditions based on conventional procedures and prior practices, with a priority on avoiding risk to the organization. We found an organization-driven mindset that prioritized benefits to the organization at the expense of the public".


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Runaway reaction incident

The EPA has shared details of a runaway chemical reaction involving phenol formaldehyde reaction. In the incident investigation report,the following recommendations are made:
1. Conduct a thorough hazard assessment
2. Complete identification of reaction chemistry and thermochemistry
3. Ensure human factors are considered in administrative controls
4. Facilities should evaluate capacity of cooling system with respect to controlling unexpected exotherms.
5. Facilities must pay attention to the order of ingredients, the addition rates, under- or over-charging, and loss of agitation.
6. Learn from accident history and near misses

Read the case study in this link.

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Update on reactor blast incident

Further to the reactor blast incident at a pesticide manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh, a Times of India newspaper report indicates the following:
"According to experts, there were no control valve and safety rupture disc in the reactor, which exploded following increased temperature. Sources said that employees were testing 'myclo vutanyl', which is used as a pesticide in the agricultural sector, when the blast occurred. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and trizol mixture of 8,000 litres in the reactor was tested by night shift employees and the sample sent to the lab. The lab reportedly was not satisfied with the results and the morning batch employees were testing the compound again. During the process, temperature in the reactor shot up to more than 150 degrees centigrade. The block in-charge noticed it and tried to address the problem but it exploded before he could take any action. The fifth block has about 30 reactors and tanks, sources said. A majority of the workers were on tea break during the incident. "Had all the workers been present at the time of the blast, it could have led to fatalities. Eighteen workers got injured as splinters from glasspanes struck them," a worker said'.
 While the root causes of the above incident are under investigation, when operating batch processes, many incidents occur due to lack provision or sizing of  adequate pressure relief devices. This occurs many times due to scaling up of pilot plant trials to plant production without adequately assessing all the reaction data and associated hazards. Have a proper management of change process to address these gaps in a robust way. Read the article in this link.


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A new refinery shutdown by caustic corrosion

 Reuters report that a new refinery in the USA which was being commissioned had an inadvertent slippage of caustic into the system. Apparently the caustic caused severe corrosion of the major equipment in the refinery when the temperature of the unit was increased as part of the start up process. operators came to know of the problem when they started having leaks and fires. The damage apparently is huge and about 50 heat exchangers have to be cleaned. The process hazard analysis of the plant should have spotted the possibility of caustic leaking into the system. While I do not know the reason for the incident, today what I see in HAZOP studies is the competency of the team is coming down and the net result is a poor study output. The onus is more and more on the chair to guide the team properly, No PHA software can do this for you.
Read the Reuters article in this link.

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Massive fire in pesticide plant

A reactor in a pesticide plant apparently exploded about a few hours ago. Many people are feared injured. Read the breaking news in this link.
See photos of the fire in these links:
Link 1
Link 2  
See video in this link.

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More pictures of steel plant accident

The steel plant accident has several probes working to find the root causes. An article in the Hindu mentions three probes - one by the factory Inspector, another by National Legal Service Authority (NALSA)and another by a high level committee to go into the accident and recommend measures to prevent recurrence of such accidents.

The committee, to be headed by former SAIL Chairman S.R. Jain, will investigate the incident and submit a report within a month. I hope we get to see the root causes from all these investigations.

Meanwhile see some more pictures of the accident in this link.

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Micro reactors and inherent safety - the future?

A press release mentions the following:
"Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal have developed a method for safer production of nitroglycerine: a microreactor process, tailored to this specific reaction. What makes the process safer are the tiny quantities involved. If the quantities are smaller, less heat is generated. And because the surface is very expansive compared to the volume involved, the system is very easy to cool. Another benefit: the tiny reactor produces the explosive material considerably faster than in agitating vessels. Unlike a large agitating vessel filled before the slow reaction proceeds, the microreactor works continuously: the base materials flow through tiny channels into the reaction chamber in “assembly-line fashion“. There, they react with one another for several seconds before flowing through other channels into a second microreactor for processing – meaning purification. This is because the interim product still contains impurities that need to be removed for safety reasons. Purification in the microreactor functions perfectly: the product produced meets pharmaceutical specifications and in a modified form can even be used in nitro capsules for patients with heart disease. “This marks the first use of microreactors in a process not only for synthesis of a material but also for its subsequent processing,“ observes Dr. Stefan Löbbecke, deputy division director at ICT. The microreactor process is already successfully in use in industry".

The use of micro reactors on a large scale will usher in a sea change in process safety. We will be investigating micro explosions instead of the major ones now!!
Read the press release in this link.

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Vehicle movement near flare headers

In March this year, a backhoe knocked a flare header off a pipe rack in a refinery in the USA, leading to a partial evacuation of the refinery. Flare systems including the flare header play a critical part during emergencies, start up and shutdowns. Ensure that you have proper engineering controls (vehicle impact protection) and administrative controls to prevent this happening to your emergency flare/ vent header systems including pipe racks. Read my earlier post on vehicle impact protection in this link.

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Accident at steel plant

Thanks to Deivanayagam for sharing pictures of the steel plant accident. The pictures show the extent of the explosion. The control room damage is also seen. The cause of the incident is being investigated. I hope the incident report is shared so that everyone can learn the lessons.A blast wave can damage everything in its path. Are your control rooms blast proof? See the pictures in this link. (Large file.... be patient)
 
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Pigging accidents

An oil pipelines was being cleaned by "pigging", which involves pushing a cylindrical plug through a pipeline for cleaning it. In this incident the pig was pushed by compressed natural gas. The pig got stuck in the pipeline and natural gas blow through occurred past the pig. The natural gas found its way to pumps and storage tanks and was vented through the tanks safety valves. Luckily it did not catch fire. The investigation determined that the blow through of gas due to a stuck pig was not considered in the job safety analysis. There are many other incidents when a pig receiver cover was opened without proper depressurizing and the pig blasting out, killing the operator. Pigs have known to be blown 100 meters away. Do a proper JSA while pigging.
Read a safety advisory bu the National Energy Board in this link.

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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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Discharge of bleaching agent causes illness

An incident in Thailand has been reported where many workers were sent to hospital after an abrupt discharge of a bleaching agent. The accident took place about 6.30pm when workers smelled a strong chlorine-like odour at the plant. The article mentions that the odour probably came from sodium hypochlorite, which was discharged from the plant during an emergency shutdown.
Read the article in this link.

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Blast in chemical factory

The Hindustan Times has reported a blast at a chemical factory near Chandigarh that killed 4 personnel.
"Initial reports suggested that the first blast was caused by a "static charge". However, according to sources linked with the probe, a safety valve of the reactor may have malfunctioned'.
Read the article in this link.

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Commissioning new plants - hazards

In a new plant that was being commissioned, Hot Oil, used as a heating medium, leaked from a flange. The leak was on the second floor and the temperature of the medium was about 300 deg C. The leaking hot oil, caused major fires and a section of the new plant was destroyed. Ensure that commissioning is done in a planned way and that checklists are followed.

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Chemical plant cited for safety violations

A chemical plant in the US has been cited for safety violations by OSHA. These violations include insufficient ventilation, an inadequate sprinkler system, inadequate worker training and failure to conduct hazard assessments at the plant.Read the article in this link.

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Hazards in tanks and vessels

WorkSafe , Alberta has published a safety bulletin titled "Controlling explosion hazards in vessels, tanks and piping systems. The following is mentioned:

"Two workers were welding an overflow pipe on top of a tank truck that contained residual flammable materials. Welding sparks ignited the materials, the tank exploded and the workers were killed. The explosive atmosphere in the tank had not been tested prior to the workers beginning their work. The tank previously contained produced water.

A vessel was purged with natural gas to remove hydrogen sulphide. The vessel was opened and a worker was washing the inside of the vessel with a water wand. A pyrophoric iron reaction on the demister pad started to release sparks inside the vessel. An explosion occurred and the worker was fatally injured.

Iron sulphide is a pyrophoric material. This means that it can spontaneously ignite when exposed to air. It is created when iron oxide (rust) is converted into iron sulphide in an oxygen-free atmosphere where hydrogen sulphide gas is present or where the concentration of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) exceeds that of oxygen.
When iron sulphide is subsequently exposed to air, it is oxidized back to iron oxide and either sulfur or sulfur dioxide gas is formed. This chemical reaction between iron sulphide and oxygen generates a considerable amount of heat. In fact, so much heat is released that individual particles of iron sulphide become incandescent and glow. This heat can ignite nearby flammable mixtures.
Most refineries experience spontaneous ignition of iron sulphide either on the ground or inside equipment. Pyrophoric iron fires most commonly occur during shutdowns when equipment and piping are opened for inspection or maintenance. Iron sulphide fires can be avoided by preventing the sulphide from contacting air. This can be achieved by maintaining a continuous layer of liquid or inert gas between the material and the air. Inerting vessels with nitrogen gas is one such method.

A vessel containing hydrogen sulphide was purged with propane. The workers then opened the vessel for clean-out. When the manway was opened, an explosion occurred resulting in the four workers receiving burns to their faces and hands. The possible source of ignition that caused the explosion was static discharge or metal-to-metal contact"
Read the Workplace health and safety bulletin in this link


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Enforcement of safety rules

An article in the Hindu newspaper reflects the lack of enforcement of fire safety rules in hospitals and other buildings. Chemical plant zoning rules are another area where the rules need to be strictly implemented to avoid the consequences of a catastrophic incident. Unfortunately there is still more to improve in this area. Let us not wait for another Bhopal type incident to wake up to the reality.
Read the article in the Hindu in this link.
  
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Explosion in glue factory in Japan

An explosion has been reported in a glue factory of Mitsui Chemicals in Japan. Read the article and see the photo of the explosion in this link.

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Lessons to learn from Hot work accident at DuPont

The CSB has published its report on the investigation of a hot work accident at a DuPont facility in the US.

Two contractors were performing welding atop a 10,000 gallon slurry tank when hot sparks ignited flammable vapors inside the tank, causing an explosion that killed one contractor and seriously injured another.
One of the root causes of the incident was failure to test the internal atmosphere of the tank prior to hot work outside the tank. DuPont is renowned for their safety practices and if can happen in DuPont, it can happen anywhere else.

While I am not commenting on the incident and its findings, I strongly feel that competency to understand process safety issues is dwindling in India. When I started my consultancy 10 years ago on process safety, I often got calls for a "safety audit". I had to explain that process safety is different from the regular occupational health and safety. What I see today is the alarming lack of process safety competency in leadership in many Indian Chemical Companies. You may have excellent process safety systems but the bottom line is that unless you have competent personnel to understand and use these systems, they cannot protect you.

Read the CSB report and watch the excellent video in this link.

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More confined space accidents

 NIOSH had published in 1986 case studies of confined space accidents. They observe that 60% of fatalities in confined space accidents are would be rescuers. Some of the accidents mentions are:

"A 54-year-old worker died inside a floating cover of a sewage digester while attempting to restart a propane heater that was being used to warm the outside of the sewage digester cover prior to painting it Workers had wired the safety valve open so that the flow of propane would be constant, even if the flame went out. The heater was located near an opening in the cover of the digester. When the worker attempted to restart the heater, an explosion occurred that vented through the opening. The worker crawled away from the heater into an area that was oxygen deficient and died. A co-worker attempted a rescue and also died". 
"A 20-year-old construction worker died while attempting to refuel a gasoline engine powered pump used to remove waste water from a 66 inch diameter sewer line that was under construction. The pump was approximately 3,000 feet from where the worker had entered the line. The worker was overcome by carbon monoxide. A co-worker, who had also entered the sewer line, escaped. A 28-year-old state inspector entered from another point along the sewer line and died in a rescue attempt. Both deaths were due to carbon monoxide intoxication. In addition to the fatalities, 30 firefighters and 8 construction workers were treated for carbon monoxide exposure".

Read the case studies of confined space accidents in this link

 
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Blast in German chemical plant

Thanks to Balu for sending information of an accident in a German chemical plant has reportedly killed two people. The plant was manufacturing  cyclododecatriene, an intermediate used to make nylon 12, flame retardants, flavors, and fragrances.The blast was apparently triggered in a tank in the cyclododecatriene plant.The cause of the blast is being investigated.
Read about the accident in this link.
 See blast pictures in this link

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Plant aging and process safety

Human beings age, but plant's dont! If you agree with this statement, you are in trouble! As plants age, corrosion spreads, material fatigue occurs, and your maintenance practices need to understand and take into consideration the residual life of your equipment.
In today's cost conscious world, very few look at the long term picture and think that you can get away with repairs. Not so. If you neglect the residual life assessment of your plants, be sure that you will end up spending more money than what you would have spent if you had a long term strategy in place. What is happening today is that instrumentation and control systems keep getting regularly upgraded mainly because the vendors do not support them more than 5 to 7 years! But mechanical equipment continue to be used often at much higher rates than they were originally designed for. Many world class organizations have reliability and obsolescence cells specifically for drawing out a long term asset replacement plan. Do you have one?

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Process safety and competency

In the next decade, the key process safety issue for India is going to be process safety competency. The average age of the Indian Workforce is today reported to be about 27 to 30 years and as experienced personnel leave the organisation, a huge process safety knowledge deficit is arising. The process safety competency gap is observed right at the top in some organizations to the bottom of the pyramid. Only those companies in the CPI who recognize that process safety competency is a a huge business risk will be able to safely manage their processes.
Read what one global organisation is doing about competency in this link.

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Speech by Judith Hackitt CBE,HSE Chair

I have highlighted some important points made by Judith Hackitt, HSE Chair in a speech tilted "Applying effective leadership and enhancing competency improvement in hazardous industries:
"Everywhere I go there seems to be a growing level of interest and stated commitment to process safety, but sadly this does not always translate into consistent measurable improvement in performance. For example, in Great Britain where we require major hazards industries to report loss of containment to HSE, in the last year alone there have been over 100 loss of containment incidents, more than half of which were considered to be precursor events for a potential major accident. That equates to an average of two loss of containment incidents every week, one of which had the clear potential to develop into a major catastrophe. I use these statistics to illustrate the magnitude of the problem which we all face, I am not suggesting that there is a greater problem in Great Britain than elsewhere but it does highlight why we should all be concerned. Sooner or later one of those "potential" catastrophes will become a real one, somewhere. Our luck is going to run out.

 Automation and process control has brought many benefits but has also increased the remoteness of the process itself and the hardware from the vast majority of people. Process operators now monitor and control processes via computer screens and increasingly complex process control systems which run the process much more steadily and reliably also can create a false sense that the computer wouldn't let things go wrong.

• Smoother running can also have an impact upon the level of attention which is afforded to engineering knowledge and concerns. Pressures to deliver reduced costs and better returns have placed requests for inspection and maintenance in the "problem" box. Shutting down a process to carry out inspection is resisted and schedules are pushed out. In many cases the value of preventive maintenance which we all learned a long time ago when Kaizen and Total Quality Management were very high on everyone's agendas has been replaced by a drift back to "If it isn't broke then we don't need to stop to fix it". And even when it is broke - let's just patch it up.
• Economic variations can also lead to assumptions being made which turn out to be wide of the mark. In the case of the UK's North Sea oil and gas operations, back in the 1990s with oil prices at a low level it was widely assumed that assets were coming to the end of their operating life and maintenance was therefore cut back, but those neglected assets are now being called on to operate again at high levels and well into the foreseeable future. Catching up on poorly maintained assets is by no means easy – it is costly and it takes a long time to rebuild integrity - and confidence.
• Failure to understand the true role of those who are charged with managing safety can also be a factor, especially by senior managers and leaders. Those whose job title is "safety management" are there to ensure that everyone else is playing their part in managing safety as an integral part of every person's job. It is not to do it for them and most certainly it is not possible for senior managers to delegate the leadership of safety to one director or individual. Acting as the conscience or the champion of safety within an organisation is one thing, fragmentation of functions to the extent that senior managers believe that safety responsibility belongs with someone else is another.
• Change in ownership and contractorisation or outsourcing of activities has been a widespread feature of many parts of the process industries for some years now. Contractorisation leads to the potential for further diffusion and possible confusion about who is responsible for what, including safety. Change of ownership is an increasing cause for concern, in that it is unclear what documentation and knowledge about critical issues such as basic design principles are passed on when assets change hands.
• Advances in technology.  I have already mentioned that modern plant that incorporates state of the art equipment has brought with it great benefits in terms of increased reliability, less excursions from normal operating conditions and so on. But the trade off to this can be a growing sense of complacency that the sorts of problems which had happened in the past could not happen again and that they have been fixed. Over time the corporate memory of what can go wrong and the consequences of things going wrong and how important it is to avoid such catastrophic events can fade  for everyone – senior managers and operators - resulting in a growing lack of understanding and appreciation of the importance of process safety, especially at the most senior levels. Ultimately, this can lead to a situation where the right questions are not being asked by the leaders of an organisation because they didn't even realise or understand what needs to be asked." 

 Read the complete speech in this link

 
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Risk management in CPI

A good article in the Business Standard highlights the importance of risk management. I know of a chemical industry where the Chief of safety has been designated as "Chief Risk Officer". For a chemical manufacturing facility, apart from the financial and other risks, the risk to reputation and business continuity if an incident occurs is much higher. The article in the Business Standard mentions the following:
'Even Mukesh Ambani in a way is striving to protect his revenue streams by diversifying into homeland security. “If you want a safe Jamnagar, or a safe Mumbai, you might as well offer the best security solutions to the nation’s top cities and its energy assets. It’s also linked to strategic energy security,” says a senior RIL executive, who did not wish to be quoted."
Read the article in this link.

 
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Explosion in boiler due to acid cleaning

Two people were killed when an explosion occurred in a acid cleaned boiler. The explosion occurred when a an ordinary halogen lamp was inserted inside. The investigation report mentions the following:
"The most likely cause of the accident was the ignition of hydrogen gas that built up in the starboard boiler steam drum. The hydrogen accumulation occurred because of inadequate ventilation arrangements to release the gas to atmosphere, as it evolved during the chemical cleaning procedure. As the steam drum door was opened, air was drawn in and combined with the hydrogen gas to produce a mixture between the hydrogen’s Lower Explosive and Upper Explosive Limits. This potentially explosive gas was not ventilated to atmosphere, nor was the confined space of the steam drum tested for toxic or flammable gases in accordance with normal practice. As the non-intrinsically safe, halogen lamp was passed into the steam drum, either the high temperature of the halogen bulb or lens glass, or an electrical spark from the lamp, ignited the gas and caused the explosion
Southampton University’s report at Annex O clearly explains how hydrogen gas can evolve when using sulphamic acid to clean steel structures such as boilers. A conservative estimate was made of the amount of hydrogen gas that was likely to have evolved through contact with the steel in the starboard boiler. This estimate, which did not consider the interaction of other possible contaminants, was based on the assumption that there was no effective ventilation and the inhibitor was 95% efficient. The report determined that, at the point of opening the steam drum, there would have been about 2.7m3 of hydrogen present, giving a hydrogen air/mix of about 55%. This is well within the hydrogen LEL and UEL range of 4 -75%, i.e. an explosive mixture existed in the steam drum"
Often heat exchangers and new equipment are acid cleaned using sulphamic acid, in chemical industries. Ensure that your personnel as well as the contractor personnel who are doing the job are aware of the hazard of hydrogen generation in the process of acid cleaning. I would like to know from readers whether they have experienced any similar incident and what are the precautions you follow.

Read the detailed incident report in this link.
 
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Molasses tank leak

A news item mentions that a molasses tank in a sugar factory in Odisha had developed a crack and molasses entered the " staff quarters" and killed three persons.
Read the article in this link.
 
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Horrible confined space incident

Two metalworkers were "cooked" inside an oven after a worker mistakenly switched it on. The news report mentions "Detectives investigating the horrific deaths in the massive oven say the pair had tried to rip the insulation off the wall of the oven and clawed at the door in a desperate bid to get free".
Ensure you follow all your confined space entry procedures, including lock out, tag out and try procedures.
Read about the incident in this link.
 
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Major gas leak from oil rig

A major gas leak from an oil rig in the North sea has been reported. The gas has not caught fire yet. The rig and surrounding ones were evacuated. The flare on the rig continued to burn but the wind direction was blowing the gas away from the flare. Read/ see the videos in these links:
Link 1
Link 2

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Fatality due to fall through removed grating

Thanks to Senthilkumar for sharing news of a fatal accident due to fall through a removed grating:
"At the filtration section of a Phosphoric Acid Plant plant maintenance personnel were lifting a 3 meter filter cloth through a removed grating at the filtration floor at 12 m height. The filter cloth was being removed every four weeks. To lift the filter cloth, the gratings are removed and fixed back every time after lifting/replacement of the filter cloth. Unfortunately the same operator who was watching the lifting activity stepped in to the open hole (of the removed grating) while talking in a radio. He died because of the fall from from 12 m height to ground level".
Removed gratings are very dangerous. During erection or maintenance stages, ensure you have proper control over them. 

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Confined space and gas detectors

Thanks to S.Selvam for sending news about an incident where the gas detector used for confined space tests was out of calibration.Read about the incident in this link.
 Another article by Concept Controls mentions the following:
'There has never been a consensus among manufacturers regarding how frequently confined space gas detectors need to be calibrated. However, manufacturers do agree that the safest and most conservative approach is to verify the
performance of the instrument by exposing it to known concentration test gas before each day’s use. This functional “bump test” is very simple and takes only a few seconds to accomplish. It is not necessary to make a calibration adjustment unless the readings are found to be inaccurate. The regulatory standards that govern confined space entry
procedures are in agreement with this approach'.
Read the article in this link.

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Lessons to learn from safety report of Railways

The Indian railways high powered committee on rail safety has published its report. There are two recommendations in the report which also apply to process safety management in India. I am quoting from the report: "There is no practice of independent safety regulation by an independent agency separate from operations. The Railway Board has the unique distinction of being the rule maker, operator and the regulator, all wrapped into one. Commissioners of Railway Safety though considered to be the safety watchdogs have negligible role at the operational level. Compliance of safety standards set by Railways for themselves are often flouted for operational exigencies. The Committee has recommended a statutory Railway Safety Authority (RSA) and a safety architecture which is powerful enough to have a safety oversight on the operational mode of Indian Railways without detaching safety with the railway operations. The Committee has also recommended measures to strengthen the present Railway Safety Commission to undertake meaningful regulatory inspections" IR suffers from ‘IMPLEMENTATION BUG’. Implementation of accepted recommendations of the previous safety committees has been a major issue. The Committee has recommended an empowered group of officers in Railway Board to pilot the implementation of the recommendations in a time bound manner with full funding. The Committee has also recommended the review of implementation of recommendations by the new statutory outfit of Railway Safety Authority under Government of India. In India, we need to make PSM mandatory and bring an independant investigating authority like the CSB. Also, the recommendations of safety audits need to be followed up. Read the full report in this link.

Capacitor failure incident

An interesting incident of a capacitor failure aboard a ship is reported.
Chemical plants use capacitor banks to improve power factor and there are lessons to learn from this incident.
Read about the incident in this link.

Fire in Chemical Tanker

A fire has been reported in a chemical tanker in Mumbai. It appears that toluene was unloaded and "stripping" operations were on when the fire occurred.
Read about it in this link.
UPDATE: An explosion has occurred in the same vessel reportedly injuring 7 petrsonnel, one critically. Read about it in this link.

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Murphy's technology laws

I came across some interesting technology laws from Murphy! The best I liked were:

1. "The degree of technical competence is inversely proportional to the level of management.
2. Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.
3. Technology is dominated by those who manage what they do not understand". 

No harm intended to anyone......but it is of relevance to PSM today!!!!

Read many good ones in this link

Modifications and HAZOP's

The Management of change element of PSM requires that a PHA be carried out when carrying out modifications. The problem I see in many companies is the lack of continuity of a PHA team due to resignations and retirements. However many checklists and procedure we write, a good PHA depends on the skills of the team leader. With people moving in and out as the PHA chair, the PHA study suffers. No PHA software can replace the skills of a trained PHA facilitator. Whenever a PHA facilitator is changed, go through your facilities management of organizational change procedures and ensure that the requirements of a PHA facilitator are met.

Update on China pesticide factory explosion

Further to my earlier post on an explosion in a pesticide factory in China, a newspaper report indicates the following:
"The investigation found that a heat transfer oil spill under one of the three chemical reactors inside the factory caused a fire that heated the ammonium nitrate and guanidine nitrate in the reactor. Both compounds are used to make explosives and explode at high temperatures.
This caused one reactor to explode, triggering a second, massively destructive blast in the plant. "The blast revealed severe problems with the production processes at the Keeper Chemical factory," according to the investigation statement.
The factory was poorly equipped, had low safety standards, and most procedures require human labor, according to the statement. Further, the factory altered the raw materials and the heat transfer oil system without assessing the risk. In addition, the workers were unqualified. Most of them, including the head of the workshop, were middle school graduates without education in chemical production. "The workers had low qualifications for dealing with emergencies and did not meet the requirements for chemical factory production," the statement said".

Read the report in this link.

More confined space accidents

"A plumber was attempting to warm a confined space in which he intended to work. He placed his lighted cutting torch in the vaulted area and closed the opening. When he returned to the vault, he noticed that the torch was no longer lit and, after entering the vault, attempted to relight the torch. The torch had used up the available oxygen in the space, causing it to extinguish, and filled the space with acetylene. When the plumber reopened the space, oxygen was again introduced and the ignition caused the acetylene vapors to ignite. The plumber was blown out the opening and burned over 65% of his body. He died about a week later."
Read about this accident and 11 other confined space accidents in this link

Accidents in batch processes

See this link for few accidents connected with static electricity and reactivity in batch processes. There are lessons to learn.

Rupture of a rubber lined vessel

A rubber lined vessel was taken out of service to replace the rubber lining. The vessel was taken to the rubber lining works and it was heated with external propane torches after blanking off all openings. Workers heard a whistling noise and ran way. A few moments later the vessel exploded. Heating the vessel externally caused the vessel to over pressurize and rupture. Read the case study in this link.

On line leak sealing

Sorry, the previous post on online leak sealing had a bad link....
Recently, I had met a senior colleague of mine called Mr S.Raghavachari after a gap of 20 years. While reminiscing about the "good old days", I remembered that he had written about online leak sealing. I mentioned about my blog and he promptly sent his article on the subject to share with readers.I thank him for sending the article.
Online leak sealing is effective if all hazards are evaluated. There have been numerous accidents during on line leak sealing, mainly due to the mushrooming of fly by night operators. Be careful while choosing your on line leak sealing contractor. Ensure he has the proper technical background and support.
 You can read Mr Raghavachari's article in this link.

Deadly explosion in pesticides factory

An explosion has taken place in a pesticide factory in China. A news article mentions that "According to the preliminary investigation, the major substance that caused the blast was guanidine nitrate, a combustion-supporting chemical that can irritate the eyes, skin and upper respiratory system. The specific cause of the accident is still under investigation"
Read about the accident and see photo of the blast zone in this link.

Don't make a mockery of a mock drill

The recent unfortunate death of a young woman  volunteer in a mock drill at Bangalore, speaks volumes of the state of emergency preparedness. In many chemical plants, mock drills are conducted by informing everyone about the timing of the drill. What is the purpose of this if you want to test your real emergency preparedness? In 1995 I attended an advanced firefighters and rescue training at Dubai where not only were we made to fight live natural gas fires generated in a natural gas skid mounted mock plant ( we had to isolate the supply of natural gas) but also made to search for victims inside buildings. Smoke bombs were placed inside the buildings to disorient us, along with strobe lights that were flashing ( also to disorient us). The instructors place a lot of emphasis on the safety of the firefighters and rescue team. Recently I read an article about a new training tool for firefighters in this link.
Always be prepared and don't make a mockery of a mock drill.

Silo collapse in fertilizer factory

A silo structure collapse in a fertiliser factory has led to injuries to 15 people.The cause of the incident is under investigation. Ensure that all structures (both civil and structural) are inspected and maintained properly. Sometimes, I have observed fertiliser material covering many structures. What you don't see cannot be inspected. Another article Mentions that police have registered criminal cases against the management.
See the video of the collapsed structure in this link
Read the article in this link.

Meetings and Process Safety

Nowadays meetings are the order of the day. Either the plant manager is coming from a meeting or going to one! Net result - plant visits by the plant manager are rare. Process safety needs to be managed by look,listen and feel technique - look at the plant, listen to your shift crew and feel the pulse of what is going on at the plant level! A newspaper report suggests that attending meetings makes one brain dead. Plant Managers - Beware!!!
Read the news article in this link

Plane accidents and process safety

"06/23/1967 Mohawk Airlines
BAC-111-204AF Blossburg, Pennsylvania The airplane crashed after an in-flight fire destroyed the pitch control systems. All 34 people aboard were killed. A malfunctioning nonreturn valve allowed hot engine bleed air to flow back through an open air delivery valve, through the APU and into an acoustic blanket lined section of the fuselage. This caused flexible hoses with hydraulic fluid to ignite and lead to an uncontrollable fire". Beware of check valves!!

"09/06/1971 Pan International
BAC-111 Hasloh, Germany The aircraft collided with a bridge, shearing off both wings, after a double engine failure occurred during takeoff. The water-injection system to cool the engines during takeoff was inadvertently filled with kerosene instead of water".

30 years ago, an operator in the plant I worked filled up antifoam liquid from a drum similar to an oil drum into the hydraulic governor of a large steam turbine. We found out when the governor started misbehaving!!

Source of plane accidents : http://planecrashinfo.com/unusual.htm

Fire in Pharma factory

Reports of a fire incident in a Pharma factory mention that hazardous waste stored for incineration caught fire. Are you safely storing hazardous waste as per the norms? Generally, what I have observed in other factories is that the incinerator area, being far away from the plant, sometimes gets a little less attention than it should be getting. Most of the work is also contracted out.Ensure that the contractor employees are trained in the norms of handling, storing and processing hazardous waste.
Read the article about the fire in these links:
Link 1
Link2

The importance of emergency stopping

How do you ensure that your emergency stop buttons will work when needed? The emergency stop is the last line of defense and a good article by Robin J Craver mentions the following:
"The nature and operation of the machine must be considered.
· Is it safe to have the emergency stop system cut the power to the machine drives and actuators? This may result in the hazard “free falling” leading to a more dangerous situation.
· Should the system actuate a brake or clamp?
· Would stopping the machine in position result in a worsening of an injury?
· Should the system allow the machine to continue on or reverse to a safe position?"
 Read the article in this link.

Process safety and nanotechnology

With nanotechnology, the process safety hazards will change. A whole new nano process safety approach may need to be taken to identify nano hazards. An article mentions the hazards of nano dust. It mentions that "nanomaterial dust could explode due to a spark with only 1/30th the energy needed to ignite sugar dust — the cause of the 2008 Portwentworth, Georgia, explosion that killed 13 people, injured 42 people and destroyed a factory".
Read the article in this link.

Fire in refinery

A fire in a major refinery in the US has been reported. Apparently, the fire was due to a flange leak.See the video of the fire in this link.

Pressure vessels and labs / R & D's

I have often seen that personnel in labs and R & D setups do not understand the hazards of a pressure vessel. Many times, pilot plants are built by buying equipment from the second hand market. Not having the specifications / data sheet for the vessel is dangerous. One such fatal incident in a NASA lab highlights the following:
"Vessel at least 33 years old
• Unknown prior service, no nameplate, no drawings
• No pressure or temperature rating information
• Most welds on hold down bolts were cracked before being put into this service
.Vessel design inappropriate for intended service
– Vacuum vessel put into service as a pressure vessel
• Vessel not pressure checked prior to full use
– And no restricted access during initial pressurization
• Critical welds on hold down bolts not inspected after 33+ years of existence
– Were not considered critical for a negative pressure (vacuum) application
• Bolt welds were cracked and cracks exhibited corrosion prior to this use
• Vessel failed (chamber lid separated from chamber body) when all hold down bolt welds broke simultaneously".

Read about the incident in this link.

Industrial accidents in India

As interesting article in Livemint.com highlights that statistics of industrial accidents in India are not accurate. It mentions that "Data supplied by two labour ministry agencies show that accident insurance benefits claimed by companies indicate a rate of accidents that far outweigh those that are reported".
Read the article in this link.

Ammonia gas leak incident

IBN Live has reported an ammonia gas leak at Paradeep where 3 workers were rendered unconscious.  The news item mentions that "Sources said some crew members inadvertently handled the gas tank of the ship carrying 13,000 metric tonnes (MT) of ammonia gas meant for the plant. The employees who came in contact with the gas fell unconscious. The unloading of gas through a pipeline to the plant had been completed by then". 
Read the news item in this link.

Vehicles and process safety

An incident where a car hit a chemical storage tote has been reported. Ensure you have identified all possible points of impact of vehicles. Piperacks, storage tanks, culverts, loading/unloading stations are all areas which you should study for a possible vehicle collision. I had been to a large refinery which had expanded in the space available. (There was a huge space deficit). Their staff bus had to cut across two units, along a narrow culvert carrying hydrocarbon pipelines. Its a disaster waiting to happen.
Read about the car accident in this link
 

Dispersion of chlorine and its containment

Thanks to Harbhajan Singh Seghal for sharing his article on " dispersion of chlorine and its containment". Read it in this link.

Management Integrity level (MIL) and Process Safety

There is a lot of talk about safety integrity level and the reliability of control and shutdown systems. While a reliable instrumented system is good for process safety, it is the integrity of management, what I call Management Integrity Level that is more important! By this what I mean is whether management is really interested in process safety by allocating resources, time and competencies. Even if we develop a MIL (Management Integrity Level) rating for management, the score has to be measured and monitored on a continuous basis!
Do not get carried away by SIL ratings and multi coloured QRA's and risk matrices. Look into your organisation and determine whether Management Integrity Levels are adequate! The answer lies within!

The dangers of pressure vessels

A good article - Accidents in Pressure Vessels: Hazard Awareness by Temilade Ladokun, Farhad Nabhan and Sara Zarei Mentions the following:  
The main causes of failure of a pressure vessel are as follows:
Faulty Design
Operator error or poor maintenance
Operation above max allowable working pressures
Change of service condition
Over temperature
Safety valve 
Improper installation
Corrosion
Cracking
Welding problems
Erosion
Fatigue
Stress
Improper selection of materials or defects
Low –water condition 
Improper repair of leakage 
Burner failure 
Improper installation

Read the article in this link.

New pipeline design concept

DNV has released details of a new concept in subsea pipelines called "X stream". The thickness of the pipe is reduced by using inverted HIPPS concept. It is an interesting read. Read it in this link.

Leak detection in sub sea pipelines

An article mentions the use of fiber optics to detect sub sea pipeline leaks based on Joule Thompson effect. Many sub sea pipelines transfer LNG, ammonia etc and any leak in these pipelines will have a catastrophic effect. The article mentions the following: "Fibre Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) methods have been successfully applied to many processes in the oil & gas industry. This non-intrusive sensing system proves invaluable in the monitoring of LNG pipelines both for cool down at commissioning, for temperature profiling during operation and as a leak detection system. There is ongoing work in the use of fibre optic DTS systems in the development of smart cryogenic hoses for the transfer of LNG and storage and piping systems aboard floating LNG vessels. Developments in LNG pipes include multi-layer insulated piping systems. This contribution presents recent studies in the use of fibre optic distributed sensors for temperature profiling and leak detection in multi-layer insulated LNG pipes". Read the article in this link.

Are your SOP's clear?

There are lessons to learn from an aborted take off recently at Hong Kong airport. The aircraft commenced takeoff not on the assigned runway but parallel taxiway. The air traffic controller noticed the airplane accelerating on the taxiway and ordered the aircraft to stop. There was no other traffic on the taxiway at the time of the serious incident.A news report mentions the following:
"Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department (CAD) released their final report concluding the probable causes of the incident were:
- A combination of sudden surge in cockpit workload and the difficulties experienced by both the Captain and the First Officer in stowing the EFB computers at a critical point of taxiing shortly before take-off had distracted their attention from the external environment that resulted in a momentary degradation of situation awareness.
- The SOP did not provide a sufficiently robust process for the verification of the departure runway before commencement of the take-off roll.
- The safety defence of having the First Officer and the Relief Pilot to support and monitor the Captain’s taxiing was not sufficiently effective as the Captain was the only person in the cockpit trained for ground taxi'.

Are your SOP's clear and are your operators trained to handle spurts in workload that occur during an emergency?

Read the news article in this link.