A hot aqueous process stream was wrongly directed to a tank full of cold hydrocarbon. The heat input from the aqueous stream caused rapid vaporisation of the hydrocarbon which then over-pressured the tank and caused a failure of the roof seam.
December 1, 2017
Hot in Cold equals Explosion!
A hot aqueous process stream was wrongly directed to a tank full of cold hydrocarbon. The heat input from the aqueous stream caused rapid vaporisation of the hydrocarbon which then over-pressured the tank and caused a failure of the roof seam.
November 28, 2017
HYDROGEN SULPHIDE POISONING DURING PLANT SHUTDOWN
One worker died due to inhalation
of H2S while trying to take out a safety valve for maintenance. It was later
determined that he removed the flange bolts of the wrong relief valve and he
was working without a permit. His supervisor had pointed to the safety valves
(there were two of them at a height) and told him to remove one. He assumed the
worker knew which valve to open.
November 24, 2017
Tank collapse incident
A fixed atmospheric
storage tank was taken out of service for repairs. During re commissioning, the
tank was filled up with water to check for leaks. After the leak check, the
contractor handling the testing process was instructed to drain the tank of water
using the 4” drain valve located at the bottom of the tank. As the contractor was
pressed for time, he decided to open the 24” tank bottom manway also, to speed
up the process of draining. After some time, a loud bang was heard and the tank
collapsed due to vacuum. The venting arrangement in the tank was not sufficient
to prevent vacuum in the tank when the manway was opened.
November 22, 2017
Ammonia storage and business continuity risk
I recently attended an international conference in
the Middle East, about issues with large scale storage of ammonia and new
developments in ammonia production. There was an interesting case where
an operator of a large atmospheric ammonia storage tank located in a port city
for many years was forced by the authorities to decommission the tank
as there was a threat by an adversary to hit the tank with missiles. The
case study pointed out that the company had taken measures to protect
the tank. Though dispersion models
predicted a much smaller exclusion zone in the event of a tank rupture,
the public relations measures and risk communication by the company
could not prevent the court judgement and finally the tank was
decommissioned. A group of scientists had published a report that in the
event of an attack on the ammonia tank, the effect would be similar to
the dropping of 5 atomic bombs. But the results of QRA studies did not match with the
prediction.
The case study has lessons for us in
India. The FACT ammonia tank supreme court judgement many years ago took
a pragmatic view of the matter. But today, public's perception of risk
is only about consequences and does not consider probability of
occurrence! There are a large number of atmospheric ammonia storages in
India where construction of houses by public, near the tanks, have been
permitted by authorities, with the net result that the buffer zone that
was originally present has disappeared. It's a point to ponder!
Industries with large quantities of toxic materials may be the ones that
may be asked to move...
November 18, 2017
November 15, 2017
November 13, 2017
Alarm management
http://www.plantservices.com/articles/2017/automation-zone-alarm-management/
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
November 10, 2017
November 6, 2017
November 3, 2017
October 30, 2017
October 26, 2017
October 23, 2017
October 19, 2017
Flexitallic unveils new offshore corrosion sealing innovation
Flexitallic unveils new offshore corrosion sealing innovation: Flexitallic, the global leader in static sealing solutions, has unveiled its latest technology innovation, Corriculite, for use in corrosion sensitive applications, including those prevalent in the offshore industry.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
October 18, 2017
October 17, 2017
Process Safety Managemement - Gaps Survey results
My thanks to the 24 people who participated in the Process Safety Management Gaps Survey. The results are listed from top ranking concern to the least ranking.
What is the greatest barrier to your PSM program?
What is your greatest barrier to Management of Change?
What is the greatest barrier to your PSM program?
1. Top
management commitment
2. Production
pressure
3. Employee
attrition rate
4. Lack
of time for PSM
5. PSM
is not a line management function
6. Others
a)
Conflict between Production vs Safety
b)
Conflict between Profits vs Cost of compliance
to PSM system
c)
PSM Competency
What is your greatest barrier to Management of Change?
1.
Carrying out changes without taking it through
MOC
2.
Lack of updated process safety information
3.
Too cumbersome a system - takes time to fill up
and complete
4.
Boss not committed to MOC but to production
5.
Others:
a)
Too much in one umbrella - forgetting MOC is
mainly to address HSEF consequences
b)
MOC is avoided when there is a conflict of
interest. If I am comfortable I will do .
Oil rig explosion
An oil rig explosion has occured in the US. See the video of the incident in this link
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oil-rig-explodes-louisiana-lake-injuries-reported-50500411
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oil-rig-explodes-louisiana-lake-injuries-reported-50500411
October 16, 2017
October 13, 2017
Robots for inspection
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
October 11, 2017
Process Safety Management System Gaps survey -FINAL REMINDER
Dear Readers,
Many of you have an existing PSM system or are in an advanced stage of implementation. I am conducting a survey on Gaps you notice in your PSM system. The anonymous survey has 2 questions and will take 2 minutes and is available in this link
I request you to please take the survey. The survey closes on October 15th, 2017
Results will be posted in blog. Thank you for your cooperation.
For people who have already responded, thanks!
Many of you have an existing PSM system or are in an advanced stage of implementation. I am conducting a survey on Gaps you notice in your PSM system. The anonymous survey has 2 questions and will take 2 minutes and is available in this link
I request you to please take the survey. The survey closes on October 15th, 2017
Results will be posted in blog. Thank you for your cooperation.
For people who have already responded, thanks!
October 10, 2017
Hazards of low level electricity
http://www.cos-mag.com/personal-process-safety/columns/hazards-of-low-level-electrical-safety/
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
October 7, 2017
October 6, 2017
Process safety management gaps Survey- REMINDER
Dear Readers,
Many of you have an existing PSM system or are in an advanced stage of implementation. I am conducting a survey on Gaps you notice in your PSM system. The anonymous survey has 2 questions and will take 2 minutes and is available in this link
I request you to please take the survey. The survey closes on October 15th, 2017
Results will be posted in blog. Thank you for your cooperation.
For people who have already responded, thanks!
Many of you have an existing PSM system or are in an advanced stage of implementation. I am conducting a survey on Gaps you notice in your PSM system. The anonymous survey has 2 questions and will take 2 minutes and is available in this link
I request you to please take the survey. The survey closes on October 15th, 2017
Results will be posted in blog. Thank you for your cooperation.
For people who have already responded, thanks!
Explosion at Coal gasification area in a plant
http://wjhl.com/2017/10/04/breaking-emergency-crews-respond-to-report-of-explosion-at-eastman/
There are great lessons to be learnt from the video of the explosion as well as the press conference that follows
There are great lessons to be learnt from the video of the explosion as well as the press conference that follows
October 2, 2017
Process Safety Management Gaps Survey
Dear Readers,
Many of you have an existing PSM system or are in an advanced stage of implementation. I am conducting a survey on Gaps you notice in your PSM system. The anonymous survey has 2 questions and will take 2 minutes and is available in this link
I request you to please take the survey. The survey closes on October 15th, 2017
Results will be posted in blog. Thank you for your cooperation.
Many of you have an existing PSM system or are in an advanced stage of implementation. I am conducting a survey on Gaps you notice in your PSM system. The anonymous survey has 2 questions and will take 2 minutes and is available in this link
I request you to please take the survey. The survey closes on October 15th, 2017
Results will be posted in blog. Thank you for your cooperation.
October 1, 2017
Polythene cover on manway possibly causes fire
After the days jobs of partially unloading catalyst from a reactor was completed, contractors observed the weather was cloudy and covered the manhole opening with a polythene cover. Some time later a flash fire occurred inside the reactor, possibly due to residual vapours from remaining catalyst ignited by the static electricity generation from the polythene cover.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
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