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Apr 24, 2015

Short circuit initiated fire in Haryana transport office

A fire incident reported due to short circuit from old electrical wire cause damage of records, files, computers, etc. It is reported that recommendations of investigation committee on a fire incident in some other building last were not implemented.

Some of the recommendations are as follows:

  1. ensuring obstruction free passage of 6 m width for fire tender movement
  2. ensuring no parking zones around buildings for fire fighting
  3. clearing / pruning trees/lobbies/extensions, etc for fire ladder movement
  4. removing wooden partitions thus reducing fire load
  5. regular checking 
  6. keeping balconies/staircases/emergency escape routes free from obstructions (it is common to see many office building corridors filled with broken chairs, cupboards, coffee/tea vending machines, old record bundles, etc)
Apart from the above, we have to ensure availability and functioning of fire detectors and fire fighting system (hydrants, hoses, fire water storage, pumps, emergency power supply to these pumps, fire hoses, training). Regular drills should be conducted to know drawbacks in the system and make improvements.
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Apr 15, 2015

Lessons learnt from process safety accidents - an article from insurancenewsnet.com


A good article is found on the above title, narrating lessons from five less known accidents. The lessons are,

  1. containment of water from fire fighting operations to avoid contamination of water sources in the rundown 
  2. to consider all auxiliary equipment also as important as main plant equipment for understanding hazards
  3. not to ignore hazards and need for monitoring even during shutdown 
  4. positive isolation, purging and checking for hazardous atmospheres (using flame is not a correct check for presence of flammable atmosphere)
  5. follow written approval system to override interlocks
  6. follow safety permit procedures
  7. identify the correct equipment before taking up work
  8. communicate with clear identification while handing over the equipment for maintenance
  9. ensure physical check by another agency before permitting equipment operation/maintenance
  10. hazards from dust, propagation of dust explosions
  11. preparation of emergency response management, with detailed instructions for every type of emergency
  12. good house keeping
  13. establish process safety management procedures
  14. inculcate good safety culture, starting from the top management
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Apr 5, 2015

Fire & Explosion Prevention Strategy in Refineries

Please see the LINK on the above article with download link. The download PDF document lists hazards in LPG bullet area, fireball radius, thermal radiation, probability lethalities, etc
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Two persons killed, three injured during LPG line cleaning

Two persons standing in front of gas piping during cleaning were hit by cleaning device at high pressure, hit the compound wall and died. There was no fire or explosion. Only mechanical impact caused the incident.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/two-killed-in-accident-at-gails-lpg-pipeline-in-telangana/

The reason reported was nonisolation of pressurized gas supply to the pipeline, though it was assured (?). On any energized system, before working, one should do positive isolation and vent and flush the system, which seems to be not done in this case. Assurances alone will not help.

http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/2015-04-05/Negligence-behind-the-mishap-in-GAIL-gas-leak--142181

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Red oil explosion (?) in a different form?? - cat litter causes radiation leak in nuclear waste dump

In an incident on 14.02.2014 in nuclear waste isolation pilot plant, cat litter containing organic matter used for stabilization of nuclear waste with nitrates, before storage, caused a chemical reaction generating heat and gases, bursting of lid off the drum and radiation leak.  The temperature was at 1600 degrees (Celsius or Fahrenheit?) causing melting of plastic and rubber (from drums or nearby?). 22 workers were exposed to the incident but without any harmful effects. The cost of cleanup is estimated at USD 240 million.

As per practice, the cat litter with silicates is used for stabilization of the volatiles in the nuclear waste to prevent reaction with others. However changing the cat litter from clay based to organic based (corn/wheat) is suspected to have caused the exothermic reaction, failure of containment of the drum and radiation exposure.

We learnt about red oil explosion which can result from reaction of nitrates and organic and temperatures of above 135 deg C (generally) though it is possible at temperatures as low as 45-50 deg C.

We have to know many things before we do something. Definitely, this incident in New Mexico nuclear waste isolation plant is a clear case study for all of us to learn.

Please see the following links on the above incident.
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At least four killed in PEMEX explosion in Gulf of Mexico - World Socialist Web Site


At least four killed in PEMEX explosion in Gulf of Mexico - World Socialist Web Site

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/02/us-pemex-fire-idUSKBN0MS4MU20150402

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/save-the-arctic/blog/52512/

Few incidents occurred earlier also in PEMEX operations. The famous and widely referred in text/reference books and websites including Loss Prevention by Frank P Lees is the one that happened in 1984 where about 500 persons died. This 1984 accident happened just before another accident in Bhopal.

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Apr 4, 2015

Teacher gets burns during demo in the chemistry class

In a fire incident, a teacher got first and second degree burns while conducting an experiment in front of the students in a chemistry class. The school science classrooms had emergency showers and the teacher doused flames by using it.
It is highly appreciable that the school management has kept emergency showers in the classroom which is rare.
However, one could have checked the material safety data sheet (MSDS) for the chemicals handled before the experiment. Or, was there any slip during the experiment, though the hazards are known?
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Apr 1, 2015

An article in Yahoo - Forbes on assessment of continuing our present job

In an article that I saw in Yahoo, six points are listed as checkpoints to see whether our present job is suitable or not to continue.

Some of the points are like, no more impact, people are not liking the ideas, don't like going to the work, etc which are mostly faced by safety professionals. Unless safety culture is introduced from day one of the factory started, people don't like to follow safety principles, as they feel that they are imposed. With people around not liking/listening means no impact in safety culture in the factory inspite of best efforts by the safety professional making him feel irrelevant, no job satisfaction, and don't feel like going.

But, this will be the situation generally everywhere as there will be hard nuts everywhere and if one keeps changing the job, finally the person will be branded as rolling stone and will not be considered for jobs at all. Possibly, one should do more research on the company he intends to join before and try to settle.
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