Choke clearing incident

A senior maintenance member of a two-man crew, and another employee were working from an elevated work platform. The platform was mounted on the back of a trailer, which was mounted to an asphalt tank. The employees had begun bypassing the normal asphalt storage tank to prepare for its five-year to seven-year cleaning. They placed a bypass valve in position to route the asphalt from the permanent tank to the temporary, trailer-mounted tank. Most of the asphalt piping was heated with a steam jacket encircling the pipes. However, the piping that ran from the bypass valve to the temporary tank was encircled with tubing that was heated by steam. The employees complained that the steam tubing, also referred to as steam tracing, was not wrapped tight enough, thereby preventing the pipe from getting hot enough to turn the hardened asphalt back to its liquid (melted) state. The employees then attempted to repair the clogged pipe. As was reported to be the normal practice, they went to the end of the asphalt piping outlet and began heating the last bend of the piping with a propane torch. The piping outlet was located directly over the top of the manhole opening of the heated asphalt tank. The tank was reported to be 300 degrees to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, at that time. During the site visit, approximately five hours later, the tank temperature gauge read approximately 260 degrees Fahrenheit. After an undetermined amount of time that the employees were using the propane torch to heat the piping, an explosion occurred in the asphalt tank. A witness described the explosion as a flame which shot 30 feet above the manhole cover and quickly descended back into the tank. This witness also stated that he could no longer observe the employees standing on the platform. Employee #1 remained on the platform and suffered asphalt burns and fractures to his face, where an item impacted it during the explosion. Employee #2 fell from the work platform, approximately 9 feet 5 inches to the concrete surface. Employee #2 suffered asphalt burns to his body and face, in addition to a hip fracture. A radio call for emergency response was broadcast throughout the company. The company Emergency Response Team doused the flames and provided initial first aid to Employees #1 and Employee #2. Both employees were transported to the hospital.
Source:OSHA

Chloride induced stress corrosion cracking

Chloride induced stress corrosion cracking

Worker struck by hazardous energy

Worker struck by hazardous energy

Lessons from an explosion in a Laboratory

Lessons from an explosion in a Laboratory

FRP tank fire due to static electricity

FRP tank fire due to static electricity

Minimizing Fire and Explosion Hazards in dusty systems

Minimizing Fire and Explosion Hazards in Dusty Systems: Having honest conversations about material handling hazards allow risks to be properly addressed, thereby reducing fire and explosion threats.

Can a water pump explode?

Can a water pump explode?

12 Tips for Centrifugal Pump Safety

12 Tips for Centrifugal Pump Safety: Centrifugal pumps are used in industrial settings, and there are several steps that should be followed to ensure safe and efficient pump operation.

On April 6, 1994, a unit operator was conducting rounds of the coker unit when he observed a leak coming from the mechanical seal of the heavy gas oil pump of coker unit #1. The operator decided to seek assistance; the head unit operator and six or seven unit operators responded. The operators placed water and steam on the leak to suppress the vapor from the seal. The head unit operator decided to shut down the pump and transfer the product to the secondary pump. As the operator shut down the primary pump, the mechanical seal blew, causing a vapor cloud to generate from the seal. The operators continued to put steam and water on the seal and isolated the pump from the pipe line. The remaining product in the pipe line leading to the primary heavy gas oil pump vaporized, leading to the dispersion of the vapor cloud. The operators who responded were wearing bunker gear and several wore emergency respirators. Those with respirators isolated the pump from the pipe line by closing the suction and discharge valves. The operators who were not wearing emergency respirators stationed themselves upwind of the vapor cloud and put water on the cloud; however, the wind changed direction several times, exposing unprotected operators to vapors. Employees #1 and #2, two unprotected operators who responded to incident, were brought to Hospital to be treated for inhalation of hydrocarbons. Employee #1 was hospitalized.
Source: OSHA

Hexane Vapors Ignited By Static Electricity; Worker Burned

Employee #1 was standing at the exit end of a conveyor, peeling off a build up of hexane adhesive from the inside of a stainless steel dip tank. A static discharge of electricity, apparently generated by the peeling action, caused a flash fire. Employee #1 suffered second degree burns on the back of his hands and his upper chest and neck. The tank is 12 inches by 15 inches by 22 inches in size. The employee was pulling adhesive from the back side of the tank when the fire started. All the equipment in the area is grounded and bonded and approved for the location. The flash point for hexane is -23 degrees.
Source:OSHA

Managing Change to Drive Chemical Process Safety Management

Managing Change to Drive Chemical Process Safety Management

Explosion isolation flap valves provide reliable low-cost explosion protection

Explosion isolation flap valves provide reliable low-cost explosion protection: New explosion isolation flap valves are a reliable and cost-effective way to mitigate the risk of dust explosions propagating to upstream equipment.