In my travels around the world, I find that many still view Anhydrous Ammonia as a “chemical that changed the world.” From the fertilizer industry I hear how Anhydrous Ammonia has saved billions from starvation as it works its magic as a fertilizer; from the refrigeration industry, I head how it is the lowest global warming […]
Recently we came across a project where questions arose concerning the welders on the job. The Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) was well written and listed the welders who would be making the welds on the piping being installed. But when asked to see the welders “certification records,” those records were older than six (6) months.
There may come a day when one of our pressure relief valves will need some type of work done on it and when that day comes we need to ensure the contractor/shop doing the work holds an “VR Stamp” from The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. The “VR” stands for “valve repair” and
There may come a day when one of our pressure vessels will need some work done on it, and when that day comes, we need to ensure the contractor doing the work holds an “R Stamp” from The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. The “R” stands for “repair” and anyone who makes
The National Board Inspection Code (NBIC) is issued every two years and this year’s edition (2017) is now organized into four (4) parts. It is developed to maintain the integrity of pressure-retaining items by providing rules for installation (Part 1), and after the items have been placed into service, by providing standards for inspection (Part
I may have been quick to “pat myself on my back” last week with my post titled “It took two (2) years, but HFO-1234yf is now a NFPA Flammable “4”, as this morning I learned from another client dealing with this refrigerant that their manufacturer also updated their SDS and guess what… that manufacturer went
I have joked about this topic in other posts, as we have been battling the idea that our new refrigerant for vehicle air conditioners is a Category 1 Flammable Gas. This conversion from R-134a has been a bumpy one, but in jest, I share with you EPA’s “use conditions,” and for an agency that certainly
Back in early 2015, I began working with some clients who were questioning their having to enter into the Process Safety arena because of a new refrigerant that was going into automobiles. Early in our discussions I was appalled that this flammable refrigerant had been “marketed and sold” with the description of being a “mildly flammable”
This week social media once again provided us an eye-opening video… flaring off an MC331 Tanker of anhydrous ammonia (NH3). In my days, I have flared off both tanker trucks and railcars, and even worked with flaring systems on refrigerated atmospheric bulk storage tanks of NH3 at large NH3 terminals and NH3 manufacturing plants. The
This week we saw another fatal hot work explosion associated with welding on a container/vessel. This time we lost a 29-year-old father, who was supposedly standing on or next to the tank when it
Identifying Facilities as High-Risk and Regulating Site Security, the CFATS regulatory program uses a risk-assessment methodology to identify high-risk chemical facilities. DHS determines risk profiles by requiring facilities that possess specific quantities of chemicals of interest (COI) to complete a questionnaire, known as a Top-Screen, on their chemical holdings. Facilities determined to be high-risk must
