Date of incident: March 2014 Notice of incident number: 2014155400035 Employer: Heavy equipment manufacturer Incident summary Two workers were bending aluminum tubing as they assembled a decanting post, a metal pipe structure used to decant liquid natural gas from tanks. Another worker was pressure testing a nearby decanting post to identify leaks. An explosion occurred […]
These were found as I was doing a design spec for a new NH3 Supply Business. These items are directly from the owner’s manual and were presented to the engineering firm after a “debate” on the reliance on Excess Flow Valve(s). These are about the three best manufacturer’s rules for EFVs I have ever seen!
We have discussed the requirements for welder certification and their documentation, pressure and leak testing and its documentation, but the one area that I have not covered yet is the documentation of the Welding Inspector(s). As we have said, the certified (“coded”) welder makes the weld(s) and then BEFORE any testing, a certified welding inspector
INCIDENT OVERVIEW An ammonia release resulted in the temporary shutdown of an ammonia plant in an industrial food processing facility. Ammonia refrigeration systems are designed to operate at 250 pounds per square inch gauge (Psig). The major components of the system like compressors, evaporators, liquid receivers, piping, and fittings, etc. are installed in a machinery
DESCRIPTION Ammonia compressor seal failure INCIDENT OVERVIEW An intermittent compressor shaft seal leak resulted in multiple ammonia releases which activated low level (<50 ppm) ammonia detector alarms. The premises were not evacuated as the release was contained in a well ventilated mechanical room and the detector did not initiate a high-level evacuation alarm.
DESCRIPTION Kraft paper pulping, strong black liquor was sprayed onto buildings and equipment. INCIDENT OVERVIEW Erosion of a stainless steel pressure piping elbow located on top of a black liquor storage tank resulted in strong black liquor being sprayed onto buildings, equipment, and the and surrounding area. INVESTIGATION CONCLUSIONS Black liquor is the
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
