Another MI learning opportunity with regard to corrosion in piping

This is another lesson’s learned regarding piping and its mechanical integrity. On October 6, 2011, an explosion and subsequent fire occurred in the Middle Distillate Unifiner (MDU) area at a Canadian refinery and injured 52 workers. This third party analysis of the piping involved and its failure mode paint an ugly picture of how improper MI management can lead one to misunderstand the true condition of their piping. The incident also points out that changes to processing conditions can have a long-term impact on the MI of piping (and vessels as well). In this case, a change in process conditions created more water vapor in the pipe that failed and this factor lead to increased corrosion rates; however, the refinery did not recognize this and therefore did NOT increase their inspection/testing frequencies on the piping. EVERYONE who participates in process safety should take the time to read this report and ask the question… “Could this happen here?” Here are the report summary and link to the full report…