DESCRIPTION Failure of the main shaft seal ( mechanical seal ) of compressor #2 released ammonia vapor from the refrigeration system into the machinery room. INCIDENT OVERVIEW There was an ammonia leak from the main shaft seal, isolated to compressor #2 in the machinery room. INVESTIGATION CONCLUSIONS
Damage description: Compressor valve packing failed to maintain a seal to prevent fluid escape. INCIDENT OVERVIEW Ammonia saturated oil leaked from the two-way valve packing of a compressor into the machine room. The ammonia gases escaped from the leaked oil and triggered the machine room ammonia detector.
INCIDENT OVERVIEW A hairline crack formed in a suction header pressure gauge line resulting in a minor leakage of ammonia. INVESTIGATION CONCLUSIONS The suction header pressure gauge line in question was ¼ inch steel tubing which connected the ammonia suction header to the pressure gauge installed in front of the engineer’s control room so that
Anyone who has attended one of my Process Safety training courses has heard me use the phrase “circuitizing your piping” when we discuss the mechanical integrity aspect for piping. API 570 is our baseline RAGAGEP for our Piping Inspection Program, but API 574 is how these inspections will actually be conducted and this standard is
It seems it does not matter if you have land under your feet or water – process safety challenges seem to be very similar! In accordance with 30CFR250.1920(b)(5), lessees on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are required to have their SEMS programs audited by an accredited Audit Service Provider (ASP) within 2 years of starting
During our process safety audits and engineering reviews for existing processes, the #1 deficiency that we still come across is the lack of piping MI inspections. However, there seems to be a major effort in getting these types of inspections completed as most auditors will now take issue if there are no “official” inspections by
We have tons to still learn from this event, but under the current economic conditions due to the virus, India has been in “lockdown” for five (5) weeks. This incident, happened last night, lends itself to being a “polymerization event” based on the video and photographic evidence I have seen from my India members. The
When is a pressure vessel not really a pressure vessel? A question that comes up often. And the answer may surprise you. The NBIC and ASME agree on this topic…
Under the Clean Air Act Section 112(r)(1), the General Duty Clause states: “The owners and operators of stationary sources producing, processing, handling or storing such substances [i.e., a chemical in 40 CFR part 68 or any other extremely hazardous substance] have a general duty [in the same manner and to the same extent as the
Your inquiry relates to the enforcement of OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) standard, 29 CFR 1910.119, to two hypothetical scenarios you provided that are related to upstream oil and gas production facilities. Background/Scenarios: In your letter, you describe the following scenarios involving natural gas processes that are in the production phase of upstream oil and
WorkSafe Victoria is issuing a safety alert highlighting the hazards associated with using small-bore fittings following a number of recent incidents at Major Hazard Facilities (MHF). WorkSafe has recently been notified of three separate incidents involving the loss of containment of highly toxic and corrosive chemicals caused by the use of small-bore fittings for temporary
This is a tale of Valve Handle Positions and the assumption the valve was CLOSED based on the position the handle was found in. No Lockout/Tagout and NO VERIFICATION of a Zero Energy State (ZES) before the NG pipe was disassembled. I am not sure why the NTSB makes no mention of “Energy Control” (e.g.
