Ammonia leak incident in Mexico

Thanks to Mr Gnanasundaram for sharing news of an ammonia leak in a ammonia pipeline that has reportedly killed 7 people in Mexico. Apparently the leak occurred during excavation for a highway project. Read about the incident in this link. 


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Ammonia from the wind

I read an article where researchers have managed to produce hydrogen that is needed for ammonia synthesis using wind energy. So, if successful on a large scale, the reformer in the ammonia plant will become redundant.....inherently safer?
Read the article in this link.

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Explosion in plant

An explosion and fire in a chemical recycling plant in the USA is most likely due to a "chemical reaction". It is estimated that about 1000 barrels exploded in the fire. Luckily there were no fatalities. Read about the incident and see videos in this link.


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Human factor incident

In a plant having two identical flare systems, a permit was issued to open a flange in a KO drum connected to a flare which was out of service. the maintenance personnel instead opened a flange of a live flare which was venting as, thus creating an emergency. 
Have you identified such human factor hazards in your facility? Ask your operators and they will tell you.

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Hot work or Cold work?

An incident where a person passed away in a tank explosion revealed that the work permit that was used in the facility was a single permit for both hot work as well as cold work. The issuer had to tick mark whether it was a hot work or cold work to be done and take the appropriate precautions. The permit was issued without marking whether it was hot work or cold work to be carried out. Lack of this clarity led to a hammering operation with a ordinary hammer taking place at the top of the tank which had flammable material inside. The spark produced during hammering fell into the tank through an opening and the tank exploded. 

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5 people killed in ammonia leak in ammonia plant

Thanks to Balu for sending information on a ammonia leak in a ammonia plant that has killed 5 people in Ukraine. You can see the picture of the accident and details in this link.
Read another article in this link. 

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Confined space fire incident

I had just posted the previous post on causes of confined space incident when I was told of an incident where a non flameproof light fitting was taken inside a newly painted vessel to check the interior painting quality. The flammable vapors inside caught fire and two people inside the confined space were seriously injured. Treat your work permit system with respect. Over a period of time they tend to get relaxed.

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Recurring causes of confined space incidents

Read a good article on recurring causes of confined space incidents (with incidents) in this link.

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Pipe explosion during hydrotest

An explosion in a chemical plant in China was reportedly during a hydrotest of a hydrogen pipeline. Read the incident in this link. 

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Lessons from Hazira fire

With reference to my previous post about a fire in a refinery, a fire had occurred in January 2013 in a oil depot of IOC at Hazira.that Killed 5 workers. The investigation report of that incident mentions that  the root cause of the incident was ignition of flammable vapours inside a floating roof tank pontoon.It appears that the pontoon was earlier repaired with old corroded plates that led to the leak. The cause of ignition was most likely a spark generated due to a falling object.


Read the report in this link.

See a video of the fire in this link. 


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Operator dies in flare KO drum area fire

A fire in a flare KO drum area has killed an operator in an IOC refinery in Koyali.  The incident occurred on 16th July and the operator succumbed to his burns on 25th July. While the reasons for the incident are being investigated, please remember that Flare systems are emergency safety systems and that we need to pay them great attention. Often fires get reported due to water seals blowing, overflows from flare stacks, and inadequate maintenance. Are you giving your flare systems the same importance as a single stream rotating equipment?

Read the news article about the incident in this link. 

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MOC survey results

Thank you to the participants of the MOC survey
Results are given below:

Total participants: 45

What do you feel is the weakest link in your MOC program?

Lack of commitment by top management                              21.7%   

Too elaborate and complicated                                               29.7%   

Lack of time                                                                            48.6%

Do you have adequate time to conduct a PSSR?

Yes                                                                                          64.9%

No                                                                                            35.1%

Do you feel the PHA conducted as part of MOC is really bringing out all process hazards?

Yes                                                                                         48.6%

No                                                                                           51.4%

What is the greatest challenge to your MOC program?

Majority answered that it is lack of proper engineering documentation

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3D virtual simulator for chemical plants

Now this is one technology driven change that sure is going to benefit process safety! The Department of Energy is running a program with West Virginia University to test 3D virtual simulators for training process plant simulators. Read an article about this in this link.

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Accident in urea plant in 1992 - Are you taking precautions?

 In 1992, while doing maintenance work on an ammonia feed pump in a urea plant in India, 11 persons died due to sudden ingress of ammonia reportedly due to a failed suction valve bush.What precautions are you taking when handing over equipment for maintenance to prevent such incidents?
Read the incident in this link.

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A balloon causes a refinery outage!

A news report indicates that a refinery in the US experienced a "momentary power problem that prompted a plant restart". Apparently, the problem was caused by a Mylar balloon that got caught in power lines supplying the refinery. Read the article in this link.

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Explosion in solvent tank

An explosion took place in a solvent tank that was part of a process that was being started up for the first time. It is reported that the explosion took place even though there was a nitrogen blanketing system of the tank. When you start a plant for the first time or after any modifications, be very careful. Humans make mistakes and especially during the time pressures for commissioning.


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Management of Change survey

Dear Readers,
Kindly take a few minutes to complete a Management of Change survey (6 questions, multiple choice) in this link.

Date of closing of survey is 24.7.13. Results will be published in blog. Thank you for your participation.


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Operating discipline!

For those of you folks who are practicing behavior based safety in your organisation to improve safety culture, see this very educational video in this link. 


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An organisations take on Safety Culture

In an article in Power Magazine, I read about a company called NV Energy who have developed a very good safety culture and it shows in their accident stats. You may argue that they are a small organization but I believe what they are doing is also applicable to big organizations.

 Read the article in this link.


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3d printed chemical reactor achieved

Further to my last post, "Scientists in the UK have used reactors made on a 3D printer to complete a three stage organic synthesis. The reagents, catalyst and purification step for the synthesis are completely integrated into the chambers of the sealed reactor. When the reactor is rotated, gravity pulls reactants through the different chambers to complete the synthesis".

Read the article in this link.
The next step in process safety may well be micro reactors and micro plants.......stay tuned!! 

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