Hydrogen from CO2 and sunlight

An interesting article in the Times of India mentions the experiment of producing hydrogen using carbon dioxide and sunlight. Worth a read in this link.


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Two lab analysts die

Further to my earlier post of an accident due to a naphtha fire in an ammonia plant , it is sad to note that two lab analysts who suffered 80% burns have died in a hospital in Chennai. This incident highlights the dangers which personnel face when dealing with hazardous chemicals. They do not give you a chance. The reason for the incident is being investigated. I had worked as a shift in charge at this plant 30 years back. The place where we used to collect naphtha samples regularly was at the hydrodesulfurisation sections ( primary and secondary) outlet.
Look at all you sample collection procedures and whether all hazards have been identified. Train lab personnel to recognize these hazards and report them to plant personnel.


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Simultaneous jobs and their dangers

Many times, during an annual shutdown of a chemical plant, many jobs will be taking place and there is pressure to complete the  jobs on time. Be careful during this period as there may be a tendency to overlook some of the hazards due to simultaneous jobs. Your regular HIRA (hazard identification and risk assessment) may not be adequate and some risks due to nearby jobs may be skipped. Before every turnaround ensure that a special training is given to the people who conduct HIRA on how to identify hazards from simultaneous jobs.


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Are you travelling in a confined space?

In a lighter vein........
I am sure many of you will be flying frequently on official visits. Though planes are designed to be evacuated very quickly during an emergency, I often compare them to flying in a confined space! I have tried to correlate the system in chemical industries used for confined space entry to that of flying in a plane:

Confined space entry permit = boarding pass
Man watch = flight stewards
24 V lighting = emergency escape path lighting
Air blower system for ventilation = cabin air pressurisation system
Oxygen monitoring = oxygen masks drop down when oxygen is less
Rescue plan = emergency exits and chutes
Chief emergency and rescue controller= pilot!


I am sure you will be more comfortable when u fly next!! All the best!


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Case study of a sulphuric acid tank repair

Read a presentation by Carl Matherne on Application of NACE Standards for Sulfuric Acid Storage and Delivery – Tanks and Piping

  
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Accident at chemical facility at Tarapur MIDC

Close on the heels of the accident at a chemical facility in Andhra Pradesh, news about a series of explosions in a chemical facility in MIDC, Tarapur has been reported. No causalities have been reported. Read about the incident in this link.
 
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Chemical factory blast kills two in Andhra Pradesh - The Hindu

Chemical factory blast kills two in Andhra Pradesh - The Hindu



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Fire in ammonia plant injures 7

I felt sad to read the news about a naphtha fire in the ammonia plant of Madras Fertilizers which injured two people seriously. A total of 7 people were reported injured. Read the news article in this link.

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Mists of flammable material can be dangerous

In my career as a process safety consultant, I have investigated some fires caused by fine spray of a flammable  liquid. The most common include pressurised lube oil leaking from a defective hose or hose joint and the fine mist catching fire.
Read a good reference of various fire incidents caused by mist fires in this link.


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Sulphuric acid spill/leak incidents

Sulphuric acid leak/spill incidents continue to occur. Read about two incidents in these links
Accident 1
Accident 2

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PSM internal audit survey results

My thanks to the 22 persons who participated in the survey. The survey results are as follows:

1.  Over 65% of repsondents say that their PSM internal audit is carried out once in 6 months
2. All respondents say that they audit all their elements at a time
3. 30% of respondents replied saying that they audit process safety culture also
4. 50% of respondents use a rating system for the PSM internal audits
5. 85% of respondents replied saying that they feel the PSM issues are coming out during the audits
6. 60% felt that management was not viewing the PSM internal audits seriously
7. 85% felt that technical competency for conducting PSM internal audits needs improvement
8. 50% of the respondents say they classify audit findings as per risk.

 
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LNG tank leak incident

An incident at a a large LNG storage facility in Washington state in USA when an explosion in a "processing vessel" sent sharpnels into an LNG storage tank, puncturing it,has lessons in Quantitative RIsk Assessment and assumptions made.
The graphic leak of LNG from the tank ( which is similar to liquified ammonia tanks) but stores LNG at a temperature of -160 Deg C is shown in the video in a news report. The tank also appears leaking at two different places on the outer shell. The wind direction has helped in not igniting the vapour leak.

Link 1 - video
Link 2- news report


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The GM recall - what are the lessons in process safety culture?

You must be reading the news about the recall of 2.6 million cars GM made due to a problem in the ignition switch which could shut off the car while driving, disable the airbag, power steering and anti lock brakes. However it is reported that GM took 10 years from the time the problem was discovered and recalling the cars to fix the problem. Meanwhile 13 deaths have been attributed to this.
 In the ongoing Senate hearing, the recently appointed CEO of GM Ms Barra told the subcommittee, "that the new GM is more "focused on the customer" compared to a "cost culture" years ago at the automaker."

What is the commonality between a giant automotive maker and PSM? The answer is "cost culture". Beware of the cost virus in your organisation's PSM system.It can cause deadly accidents.
  
Read about the problem and recall in this link
Read about the testimony of GM Chief in this link

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Uzbek fertiliser plant acid spill investigation

In late February 2014, a sulphuric acid spill from a storage facility in a fertiliser plant in Uzbek was reported. Now the investigation reveals that it was a seam failure of the tank. Read the article in this link

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Role of HR in Safety

Mr M.K.Rao, Executive Director of India Glycols Limited has written a good article on "Role of HR in Safety". You can read the article in this link.  My thanks to him.

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Seven dead as tanker overturns - The Hindu

Seven dead as tanker overturns - The Hindu



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Process safety management internal audit survey

I would appreciate if, for those who are running PSM systems, you answer this survey (8 questions). Results will be published in the blog later.
Take the survey in this link.


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Fire in chemical unit

A fire in a  chemical unit in Udaipur has gutted the unit. In the pictures in the news report in this link, you can see remnants of barrels that have caught fire. Often, plants store chemicals in barrels on roads due to lack of space. This practice is a waiting time bomb. Barrels exposed to heat from a fire can explode violently and  spread the fire rapidly. 

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Confined space accident kills 7

 The Hindu Business Line has reported a confined space accident in a textile mill in Erode where 7 workers lost their lives. Apparently, the accident took place when maintenance work was taking place in a sunken pit in a ETP, when a valve broke and released poisonous fumes. The would be rescuers ( 6 of them) entered the  pit one by one to rescue the others and died. Please emphasize in your training the importance of rescuers NOT to enter any space for rescue unless they are adequately protected. This incident  is a tragic loss of life
Read about the incident in this link.


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When the back up fails........

 When I was working in Saudi Arabia, the 3000MTD gas based methanol plant was operated with state of the art DCS systems. Just before a planned turnaround, instrument personnel were working with some control room underfloor cables when, by mistake, all power to the DCS displays were lost. It was restored after 30 minutes. The plant parameters were maintained throughout the upset without any safety issue as the controllers in auto were doing their job. However a case study presented in 2012 by Shri KC Tripathy and others of NTPC shows how safety hazards cropped up during "complete and simultaneous DCS failure in two 500MW units"
The case study mentions among other useful learnings, the following:
"All processors (active and redundant) abruptly rebooted at once. Thereby both redundant network & redundant processor concepts of DCS design were defeated".

 Read the case study in this link.



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Common causes of flange leaks

Often flanges are a source of leaks, causing release of hazardous chemicals that may result in a fire or toxic chemical exposure. Read a good article on the basic causes of such leaks in this link.
 

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Process safety - voluntary or regulatory?

I read an interesting editorial in the "Record" about the above subject. Worth reading in this link.


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Lessons from NASA astronaut "water in helmet" incident

In July 2013, during a spacewalk outside the International space station, an astronaut reported water entry into his helmet. He was asked to get back only after he made three calls saying the water didn’t appear to be from a drinking bag. Later it was found out that the drinking bag was not the problem and a choked filter was the cause of the leak. The NASA investigation report mentions some of the reasons for the incident as inadequate training, the crew members and ground misunderstanding the severity of the situation, and a (false) perception that any water leak is likely due to a problem with the drinking bag. Do not normalize deviations!
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/109814/as-astronauts-helmet-filled-with-water-he-told-nasa-three-times-it-wasnt-from-the-drinking-bag/#ixzz2uuMFin1Z

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A Century of Controversy, Accidents in West Virginia’s Chemical Valley in Lead-up to Spill

A Century of Controversy, Accidents in West Virginia’s Chemical Valley in Lead-up to Spill

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Moving scaffolding near HT cables

In 2012, there was an electrocution incident in China, when painters moving mobile scaffolding contacted a 10000 V electrical line. The CCTV video in this link illustrates the dangers of high voltages. It is graphic and not for the faint hearted. See the video in this link.


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Case study on fire incident in cooling tower

 Read and share this good case study from Oil Industry Safety Directorate. The recommendations, I think speak for themselves, where the issues were.

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Sulphuric acid leak in refinery injures two

A leak from a sulphuric acid pipe in a refinery in USA  has reportedly injured two employees. It appears that workers in the refinery were "afraid" as acid leaks continued to occur frequently. Incidentally, the company has not allowed CSB investigators to pursue their investigation. Read about the incident in this link.


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Pneumatic test accident

The dangers of pneumatic testing is again highlighted by an incident where a 335 litre vessel exploded during the test, causing a worker to loose his legs. Read about the incident in this link

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Misuse of expansion bellows as pipe supports leads to accident

An incident in a pharma company in the UK where bromine sprayed a worker causing severe injuries has been attributed to the bellows used to support pipe work and also corrosion of the bolts of the bellows. Read the incident and causes in this link


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Thumb rules for mechanical seals

Mechanical seal failures cause a hazardous chemical to come out with severe consequences. A very practical rules of thumb for mechanical seals written by Mc Nally (who has 35 years of experience) can be found in this link.


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Chemical plant fire -photos

See 27 photos of the fire in this link.
You can see the pool fire also. Worth noticing is the pressure of the water in the fire water monitors which help to keep surrounding equipment cool


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Pictures from Chingari Trust

As readers are aware, the proceeds from my book go to the Chingari Trust in Bhopal, who take care of the children affected by the Bhopal Gas Disaster. As humans we often react only when it happens to us. The legacy of Bhopal must never be forgotten. Please see some pictures about the activities sent by the trust

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High pressure water jet machine accident

An accident during a high pressure jet machine usage is given in this link

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Chlorine leak affects many

A news report mentions about an accident on NH 75  on the Jharkhand UP border caused a truck carrying chlorine tonners to turn turtle, resulting in the bursting of some tonners. More than 100 persons are reportedly affected.It appears that bad road conditions led to the truck overturning.
Read about the incident in this link.


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Sulphur dioxide leak incident

In 2001, a release of SO2 gas was triggered when a vehicle hit a power supply pole and caused a power outage. Read about the incident and it's causes in this link.

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Interesting incident from workshop

Am currently attending an Indo US workshop on Science and technology for preventing terrorism. A speaker from the US mentioned an incident involving human factors - a highly secure facility which had three layers of security was penetrated by a group of activists, who managed to penetrate all three layers without being noticed by guards. When the activists reached the  secure building, they tried throwing some stones to attract attention, but the security guards thought that carpenters were working late and ignored the noises. Finally they were detected and apprehended. The incident was captured by video. The speaker highlighted that the guards never anticipated a breach as they thought that the three layer security was foolproof. The guards let their guard down! When people do routine monotonous jobs, there is a tendency to ignore warning signs as they are not alert enough.
The same applies to operators who run complex chemical plants with layers of automation. It is a human tendency to think that automation will always do its job. Make sure your operators are trained in the hazards of over dependence of automation. (automation addiction).


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Confined space fatality

One person died when entry was made into a decommissioned submarine without proper atmospheric monitoring. Most probable cause of the accident was oxygen depletion due to rusting inside the decommissioned sub. Many times, we feel that a decommissioned equipment is safer than an equipment that is in service. We let our guard down and then a fatality occurs. Sometimes, new equipment are brought to the site before a turnaround and placed near the unit. They may be nitrogen blanketed and have to be treated just like any vessel in service. Make sure your maintenance personnel understand this.
Read about the accident in this link.

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Methane is dangerous - regardless of the source!

 A news report mentions of an explosion in a farm shed with cows, injuring one cow. The explosion was attributed to methane gas from 90 flatulent cows.The cause of ignition was reported to be static electricity. The roof of the shed was blown off!



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2 dead, 1 injured in accident at Essar Power plant near Jamnagar | Business Line

2 dead, 1 injured in accident at Essar Power plant near Jamnagar | Business Line



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Toxic gas formation in confined spaces

Confined space accidents due to exposure to toxic gases after entry continues to kill people. Read a warning about how toxic gases can be generated in confined spaces in this link. 


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Phosgene leak in plant at Dahej

A phosgene leak at a new toluene di isocyanate plant at Dahej on January 9th has reportedly affected 21 employees with one in serious condition. Interestingly, the company has filed a FIR against the technology provider.
Read about the incident in these links
Link1

Link2

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The importance of containment

An incident is being reported in the US where a storage tank storing Crude MCHM, consisting mostly of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol developed a hole and started leaking. The secondary containment (dykes) also failed and the chemical entered a river which is the main source of drinking water. 
Maintain your primary and secondary containments.....read about the incident in this link.


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Japan factory blast kills five | euronews, world news

Japan factory blast kills five | euronews, world news

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German oil refinery fire and explosion | euronews, world news

German oil refinery fire and explosion | euronews, world news

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Lessons Learned: When Disaster Strikes A Chemical Plant

Lessons Learned: When Disaster Strikes A Chemical Plant

Thanks to Balu (My classmate who is now in the US) for sending this good case study.

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Incidents in chemical units in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh continues to experience incidents in chemical units.
Read about the recent two fire incidents in this link. 
Read about another incident this week in this link. (Thanks to Mr. Subrahmanyam for the info) 

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Workers suffer chemical burns to face

Workers suffer chemical burns to face

The above incident is a classic case of what will happen if you ignore warnings.

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Online leak sealing incident

An incident in a refinery in Belgium in which a bonnet of a steam valve flew open killing two contractors during sealant injection highlights the dangers. Many engineers take on line leak sealing for granted and a quick fix to arrest leaks. Remember on line leak sealing is an inherently unsafe method unless properly engineered. In India a plethora of on line leak sealing agencies have mushroomed offering leak sealing at low cost. Cost should not be the deciding factor while choosing the agency. Check their engineering expertise.
Read about the incident in this link.

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Process safety - where are we heading??

I was reading an article on process safety and a new terminology called "peak risk". In the last decade a number of new terminologies and technologies have mushroomed. But I think we have lost our way somewhere. Ultimately, accidents happen due to decisions taken by Management that have an effect on process safety and causes a catastrophic accident. Over a period of years, chemical manufacturing companies have fewer and fewer technical personnel on the board. As long as we do not address this issue, new terminologies and new technologies will only make someone's purse fatter but will not prevent a catastrophic accident!

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Welding incident

  Welding incident in youtube ... see the response of the fire watch... do you think it was right or wrong?


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