At 1:40 p.m. on May 7, 2024, Employee #1, 42, a Production Engineer, was performing daily assigned tasks when the Maintenance Coordinator requested that the employee replace a gasket on a wash tank camlock. While disconnecting a high-pressure hose from the bulk wash tank, the hose ejected water at 185F. The hot water burned 98% […]
Interesting case as the focus of the release was… “maintenance procedures failed to include clear instructions for detecting chlorine leaks after maintenance activities“ Respondent is the owner and operator of a facility. On August 30, 2024, there was an incident at the Facility that resulted in an accidental release of 180 pounds of chlorine (the
The Respondent owns a milk production facility. According to U.S. Census data, more than one thousand people live near the Facility. The Facility has been in use as a dairy since 1886, and at the time of EPA’s inspections, included a milk production site, office space, chemical storage, warehousing, and production areas. The last major
At 10 p.m. on 3/19/18, an employee, 34, and coworker were performing preventative maintenance on a chlorine gas system used in a water filtration process. The employee and coworker were removing, and reinstalling, a flange with a black Teflon rubber gasket. They were working in a 48-foot long, 24-foot wide, and 6-foot tall crawl space
At 11:05 a.m. on September 17, 2020, an employee, 34, was working for a water treatment support services company. He began to take a bolt off the motor of a distribution pump on a chlorine dioxide generation system (Unit #2).
On 8/9/21, the flex hose transferring chlorine to the furnace failed, and employees discovered the leak by observing a visible chlorine cloud. An exposed employee was hospitalized as a result of pulmonary edema.
Employee #1 was mixing an automobile cleaning solution, which required that several chemicals to be added to a mixing tank. He would first weigh out the appropriate amount of a chemical and then use a chemical transfer pump to move it into an empty drum until the desired amount (by weight) was obtained. This task
We have discussed the pros and cons of pressure testing/leak testing piping. Code requires the test to be Hydrostatic Test; but if there is a legitmate issue with doing a hydrostatic test, then we can use the pneumatic test method. But we MUST realize the catastrophic/fatal hazard of pneumatic testing. For example,
When teaching my HAZMAT and Process Safety courses, we always cover chemical properties @ atmospheric conditions, higher pressure, and under a vacuum. Most people who have never been trained in these properties simply think that water freezes at 32F and boils at 212F. THese properties are accurate when we are in standard atmospheric conditions. But
Supposedly, the liquid leak was from a failed gasket (as stated by an EPA official earlier this week). But now we have been told the gasket was on a 12” manway on the bottom of the tanker as shown below. The pictures were taken at the time of the release and appear to show what
Corrosion allowance is the extra thickness of metal added to a component to account for material loss from corrosion over its service life, ensuring it can withstand pressure and structural loads until the end of its designed life. It is calculated based on the predicted corrosion rate, operating conditions, and the equipment’s anticipated life, using
ASME PCC-3 guides the preparation and implementation of a risk-based inspection plan. Flaws identified during inspection plan implementation are then evaluated, when appropriate, using the procedures provided in API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, Fitness-for-Service. If it is determined that repairs are required, guidance on repair procedures is provided in ASME PCC-2, Repair of Pressure Equipment and Piping.
