Most of us have seen a gate valve installed in piping, and 99% of the time, we want to see the valve handle in the VERTICAL-UPWARD position. However, when we need to install an “intervening valve” in the relief path, which ASME allows, we may/should see the valve handle(s) in the Horizontal or below Horizontal […]
In my time in petro chem I had two releases (Cl2 and Br) that were caused when the handle of a 1/4-turn ball valve (bleed) was accidentally OPENED (one by a utility hose and one by a pant’s leg). Here is another example from The European Process Safety Centre (EPSC) What Happened:During scaffolding maintenance work,
ASME has allowed dual PRD systems ever since I started in process safety back in 1993. These systems usually have a Rupture Disc (RD) BEFORE the Pressure Safety Valve (PSV). This is usually done to protect the more expensive and more complicated PSV from the corrosive process gases. Although I never managed a PR system
For decades, we used Appendix M-5 in Section VIII as our design basis for having intervening/stop valves before and/or after a Pressure Relief Device (PRD). But in 2021 (amid the global pandemic), ASME published its new Section XIII, Rules for Overpressure Protection. We now use Appendix B of this new ASME section when we have a design
I was always taught the “bubble test” method had a climate limitation regarding cold ambient temperatures. As we have discussed, ASME B31.3 refers us to ASME Section V for the Bubble Test method for leak testing. It is there we can find the “surface temperature” limitations… (emphasis is by me)
HSE has identified inconsistencies in the application and supervision of welding of safety-critical metallic components, leading to failures with high consequences. Examples include loss of containment of dangerous substances, major structural collapses, and fatalities. HSE specialists carried out a study to identify common causes of these and to highlight priority areas for improvement of weld
I talk a lot about inspecting welds/flanges and then pressure testing and leak testing our piping. However, there is more to this story. Inspecting our piping actually begins before it is installed. 341.4.1 Examination – Normal Fluid Service
It is true that not all flanges and threaded joints have to be visually examined. However, this exemption is seriously limited. (4) a sufficient number of threaded, bolted, and other mechanical joints selected at random to satisfy the examiner that they conform to the applicable requirements of para. 335. Here is the qualifier…
A total of seven people were taken to the hospital after a chlorine gas leak was reported. The cause of the leak was a truck driver who delivered a chemical to a Water Plant and “unintentionally mixed two chemical compounds in a holding tank.” This then released the chlorine gas “from the tank vent.” The
Interesting facts about this event: On October 10, 2024, at 4:23 p.m., approximately 27,000 pounds of hydrogen sulfide gas were released during maintenance at the Refinery in Deer Park, Texas. The release fatally injured two (2) contract workers. Background Information The facility is a petroleum refinery located in Deer Park, Texas and is a Limited
Imagine the purchasing manager announcing at a staff meeting that the business is changing the supplier for one of your PSM/RMP-covered chemicals. There is nothing special about this chemical; it is a 100% pure solution/gas, so you think nothing is changing. But this chemical has come under a lot of questions by yours truly, and
It is great when I can convince an organization to pressure test and leak test its process piping. However, if this task is not done according to the book, we may have created a serious hazard. Two (2) safety-critical devices are often overlooked during pressure and leak testing, and missing either one or both can
