Gas leak explosion causes two deaths

After power  failure and resumption, explosion occurs in a house causing two deaths.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/gas-leak-triggers-explosion-in-farmers-kitchen-2-die/articleshow/60371272.cms

Gas leak

Dupont is cited by US for gas leak that killed four persons, with fines totalling USD 99,000.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-cites-dupont-gas-leak-killed-workers-31056772

Domestic LPG cylinder leak - lights ON - explosion - deaths and injuries

In an incident of LPG leak from domestic gas cylinder five days ago, 8 persons died and 3 more are undergoing treatment.
In a housing complex, sensing gas leak in the opposite house, neighbors opened the house by getting the keys from the house owner and when switched ON the lights, the sparks caused gas explosion.

Gas detectors are the need of the hour and any gas leak detection should lead to display of warning sign of "DO NOT USE ELECTRIC SWITCHES-DO NOT USE MOBILES-SPARKS CAN CAUSE EXPLOSION" prominently so that even in panic condition one will not try to use electric switches.
Gas cylinder / piped gas distribution agencies can distribute do's and don'ts along with the cylinders by printing behind the bill or if somebody is paying online, these instructions should be displayed on the billing page and only after checking the boxes on each of the instructions, should lead to payment page. Further, distribution agencies and community centers may take up periodical training of residents and those who fail to attend the training programmes should be penalized by way of higher billing or in the worst case, cutting off of gas supply.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Entire-family-wiped-out-in-Vikarabad-gas-leak-blast/articleshow/19233935.cms

Explosion and hydrofluoric acid gas leak near Gumi city in South Korea

In an incident of explosion in a chemical factory near Gumi in South Korea led to release of dangerous hydro fluoric acid gas and caused five deaths and affected more than 3000 persons apart from animals and crops in 524 acres. Some nearby factories in the affected area also shutdown their operations after the incident. The incident happened on 27.09.2012 and it is reported that the evacuation was done after villagers request.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/277261/news/world/thousands-treated-after-toxic-gas-leak-in-s-korea
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/10/08/south-korea-belated-response-to-toxic-gas-leak-affecting-thousands/
http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/thousands-treated-after-toxic-gas-leak-in-s-korea-reports
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/09/south-korea-declares-area-hit-by-toxic-chemical-leak-special-disaster-zone/

Wrong chemical mixing - gas leak - 11 injured

In an incident, the truck driver connected connected a wrong hose pumping acid into a tanker already containing some caustic solution. This resulted in chemical reaction, raising the temperature to 120 deg C and the driver saw yellow gas leak. 11 persons were injured in the incident. It is not clear who cleared the tanker driver to connect a wrong hose.

Following procedures/precautions can avoid such chemcial accidents/incidents.

1. Ensure the fitness of the vehicles by checking for valid certificates before permitting the vehicle into premises.
2. Ensure the contents and volume in the tanker by checking the records from the driver.
3. Ensure the availability of TREM card for the chemical in the tanker.
4. Ensure supervision for the job.
5. Label the hoses with chemical names apart from proper colour coding of the hoses.
6. Ensure connecting of earthing lines (depending on the chemicals handled) to the tanker.
7. Ensure connecting of correct hose to the tanker.
8. Instruct the operator to pump required volume by proper setting.
9. After pumping, disconnect and wait for backflow of chemicals from hoses, if any and wash the area.
10. Disconnect the earthing connections from the tanker.
11. Enter the volume pumped  or the level in the tank after pumping, in the records of the truck driver.

http://www.kval.com/news/local/At-least-three-people-injured-during-hazardous-materials-incident-Portland-155757555.html

A video is also available in the above link about the incident.

LPG cylinder burst - 5 injured - police book case

In an incident, 5 kids were injured as the mini gas cylinder on which the house wife was preparing food at the time of the incident. Leaking gas caught fire and the house wife tried to extinguish the fire by turning upside down of the cylinder and rubbing over the mud floor. She also put a blanket and poured soap water to extinguish fire unsuccessfully.
The cylinder burst and metal fragments pierced into the bodies of the neighbouring children gathered around the spot. Police booked case against the house wife for causing injuries due to negligent act.
This incident is posted here as many times, cylinder blast is not detailed clearly in the reports. Whether it is gas explosion or bursting of the cylinder will not be stated clearly. Sometimes, people even say gas stove explosion leading misunderstanding of the terms and facts.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3439539.ece
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-21/hyderabad/31799865_1_cylinder-sridevi-lakshmi

North Sea gas leak on March 25, 2012 at 4000 m below the surface

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21637-no-toxic-hydrogen-sulphide-in-north-sea-gas-leak.html
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21631-north-sea-gas-leak-venting-from-newly-disturbed-source.html
http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/scottish-headlines/north-sea-gas-leak-source-located-1-2199804#


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2121457/North-Sea-gas-leak-threatens-repeat-Piper-Alpha-oil-rig-disaster-Aberdeen.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Chlorine gas release - Over one hundred fall sick

As per the report (Toxic gas runs havoc) rupture of rusted pipeline carrying chlorine gas leads to atmospheric discharge and over one hundred persons from the factory, fire service and locals fall sick. The gas causes discoloring of leaves of the trees in the area.

 The pipeline ruptured with a bang and workers inform that the pipeline is old and rusted. The fact that many of the sick were from the factory implies lack of communication, poor awareness about emergency actions and protective measures to be followed by the individuals.

Generally, vessels containing chemicals are tested but not the associated piping. Testing of piping along with containers should be made mandatory and the violators should be punished for endangering the safety of the living beings and the environment.

Gas leak - six injured

An incident of gas leak and explosion was reported in the newspaper. Not knowing about the gas leak, in the early hours, the person lit a match stick to light a beedi that resulted an explosion with a loud sound and injured six in the house. An adjacent wall of the room collapsed in the incident.

As per another version in another newspaper, the house wife called her husband after smelling the leaking gas, who lit a match stick to see the gas leak.

Normally, there will be reports of cylinder explosion or stove explosion. But, in this report, it is clearly stated that the gas leaked, found ignition source, gas caught fire and exploded.

The incident is a lesson to learn about safe handling procedure for gas leak. After getting the gas smell, one should not switch ON or OFF the electrical appliances, open the windows and doors to allow escape of gas, take the cylinder to open area away from the residential buildings or cover the gas cylinder with a wet cloth, caution others about gas leak and avoid ignition sources and then call the gas cylinder supplier for necessary help.

Gas leak and explosion at a refinery in Iran

A gas leak and subsequent explosion and fire at a refinery in Iran killed 4 people and injured 25 persons. It is reported that the incident occurred when the facility was made ready overnight for inauguration. If the facility is to be inaugurated for some reason, may be it can done without starting the facility, if systems are not in place. It is appropriate for authorities to enquire about status of the facility, obtaining of statutory clearances, systems in place, etc., before accepting invitation for inauguration as any incident like this can damage their reputation. I saw a CEO enquiring with the safety department head before inauguration about the safety readiness of the facility and whether they issued clearance for starting operations or not. There are instances of not accepting the invitation when safety clearances were not obtained. Though it looks strange for others, but it demonstrates concern about safety of the employees and public from the facility operations.

Penalty for delayed reporting of incident

As per reports, a gas production facility will be penalized upto  $ 50,000 for alerting the authorities 2 hrs late about bursting of gas and salt water from one of its wells. This appears to be of very high standards, as generally many incidents including gas leak go without reporting.  In another facility of the same facility, spilled diesel was contained and contaminated soil was removed. Again, this is also great as nobody cares about spillages even outside facilities and replacing the soil within the facility is a good move. Australian authorities appear to be strict in respect of rules and regulations and is better for safety of the people, if it is implemented in toto everywhere.

Gas leaks, crude method of testing, gas poisoning/fire

There is a news item which mentions about the death of 2 persons and hospitalization of 2 more due to inhalation of poisonous gas from a manhole. One of the deceased went inside the manhole to check gas leak. As it appears, no PPE was used by the victims. Few years back, I read a similar incident wherein one auto driver opened the petrol tank lid and tried to check the petrol with the help of a lit match stick which resulted in burn injuries on the face. Similarly in another incident, a person died when he tried to see the water level in an underground water reservoir. The person died though he was sitting on the top of the tank and lowered his head without actually entering into it.
The safe practice is to lower the gas monitoring instrument / gas drawing tube to the place of work and check for levels rather than allowing the person to enter in to it. If it is not possible for any measurement due to complexity of the approach for the instrument, then a person should enter only after wearing self contained breathing apparatus and safety belt and communication system under the watchful eye of another person at the entrance of the opening.
Few years back, I saw in NGC in a "Seconds from Disaster" episode, where flammable gas leaked from the line (which was deep inside a river), diffused into a weak sewage water line adjacent to it, passed through sewage line network, leaked outside through open manholes of the city and caused widespread explosions after it found an ignition source in the form of a spark generated by lifting and dropping of manhole by one of the municipal employee. This type of fire and explosion is beyond imagination of persons. But, there was an accident reported where sparks from gas cutting work ignited a gas leak. Rules insist upon maintaining minimum 15 m radial distance around hot works, to be free from any flammable materials/storages. There is nothing wrong in covering flammable material containers with asbestos cloth / wet cloth to prevent spraks falling on them and there is no need to feel shy of being extra cautious about safety.
Though, people doing/permitting such hot works without safety precautions question about the wisdom of maintaining safe distances, occurrences of fire incidents remind us to be extra cautious and to know that "Rules are for all to implement" and only fools (though they claim that they are knowledgeable and are in good management position because of their so called hard work) violate the rules.

Chlorine leak from cylinder at Mumbai Port Trust

It is reported in TV and websites of newspapers that on 14.07.2010 at about 0315 hrs, chlorine liquid leaked from one of the 105 cylinders seized by customs in 1994 years ago and kept at Mumbai Port Trust (BPT) scrap yard. Out of 141 cylinders, five were full and others were empty. Chlorine leaked from one of these 5 cylinders. More than 100 persons (126) were admitted in various hospitals and more than 500 persons in the area were evacuated. Services of Fire brigade, National Disaster Response Team and other agencies are utilized to bring the situation under control. Subsequently the chlorine in 5 cylinders was neutralized which could have been done long before.

Disposal of gas cylinders is a major issue and is to be as per Gas Cylinder Rules. The scrolling news in a TV channel mentioned that BPT asked Controller of Explosives to dispose the seized cylinders and as there is no response, cylinders were left as such. Controller of Explosives is not the agency for disposal of cylinders. They are regulators to issue licences for storage and handling. It is not known why the cylinders were seized by customs. However, BPT should have asked the person (consignee) responsible for bringing the cylinders to dispose or BPT should have disposed and collected the charges. Disposal means what we can do?. Either give the cylinders to users of chlorine or neutralize the gas in controlled manner.

Apart from the above incident of leaving gas cylinders in scrap yard, few months back we read that radioactive sources belonging to Delhi University were found in the scrap yard of scrap collector. In a book, I read that when someone was cutting a big pipe, a cylinder was found inside the pipe. There must be several gas cylinders lying for several years in scrap yards and storage areas of several industries where we do not know the contents. They have to kept atleast in shaded areas till such time the history of the cylinders can be established. Else, they may leak after sometime because of exposure sun and rains. If someone is doing hot work near such cylinders not knowing about their presence, cylinders may explode and result in fatalities or injuries. Guidelines were issued by CSB for hot work and a video is available in the website (www.csb.gov) about hazards of hot work. Several videos of CSB are also available on Youtube.

What one can do to such incidents is to dispose the cylinders as soon as they arrive by use or neutraliztion or incineration as the case may be. If not possible, they should be stored properly and history cards maintained. For those cylinders already lying in the backyards for several years, we have to shift them to safe storage areas and efforts are to be put to trace the history. If contents and supplier name are readable from the cylinder, then we can dispose them in a suitable manner. 

LPG GAS leak, explosion and burns

Many times it is reported in news papers that there was LPG stove explosion leading to burns / deaths. Not many people are clear whether it is the explosion of stove or cylinder or gas. Normally, the leaking gas creates flammable atmospheres and when someone tries to switch on the light in the morning or uses lighter, the leaking gas in flammable range ignites and explodes. Bursting of cylinder is a rare case which can happen only when the cylinder is exposed to external fire and contents inside are pressurised and then the cylinder explodes with fragments flying all around.

Few years back, it is reported that a fragment from such explosion killed a person on the road. Otherwise, the gas explosion causes burn injuries and deaths to occupants of the building, causes collapse of the roof, shatters window panes, doors, etc.

Simple precautions like closing the regulator after use every time, keeping constant vigil / observation when milk or other items are kept on the stove, changing the hose once in two years or as recommended by the hose manufacturer will keep safe our homes and save us from consequences.

Similar to the above, auto rikshaw drivers check the level of petrol / diesel in the tank in the darkness with the help of a lighted match stick and the vapour in the tank catches fire leading severe burns. Such news reports also appear now and then in the news papers.

Such incidents as above show that people lack even common sense and it is a big question mark about how governments, regulators, society can protect them. Because such acts not only injure these silly people but also affect nearby persons and may cause destruction to persons / property located even 50-100 m away.

Gas cylinder Explosion

Yesterday (16.01.2009 Friday), I read a news items in a local news paper with the title, which is the title of this post. It states that four persons were seriously injured due to burns in this accident. It is reported in the news paper that when gas cylinder in use has become empty,  the house owner (a gold smith, may be with both shop and house together) informed and got refil cylinder from the LPG supplier at about 1430 hours. When the family members  of the house opened the gas (stove knob ? / cylinder cap ? / regulator knob ?), the gas leaked. Seeing this, the workers in the shop put the cylinder in a water tub. Still the leaked gas (obvious, as LPG does not dissolve in water) spread around and caught fire (there can always be an ignition source for a combustible material). The fire caused burn injuries to four persons who were working in the shop. After extinguishing the fire, the other workers admitted the injured in a private hospital and informed the police. The police went to the spot and shifted the injured to a government hospital for further treatment of the persons whose condition is serious.

The above news items and similar such news items earlier always raised so many questions in me.  A few of them are,

Whether the cylinder exploded (as per the title of the news item)

However, as per the news item mentioned below the title, it is understood that the cylinder did not explode but it is the leaked gas that exploded.

- Similarly, sometimes reports appear as gas stove explosion. This also gives impression that the stove (burners) exploded. But mostly it is the leaked gas explosion.

The reaction of the persons for arresting the leak is another question in my mind.

We can't blame the persons who have put the cylinder in a water tub in this case because of their knowledge / awareness. However, it is better if the gas cylinder suppliers put stickers on the cylinder containing information like, what to do in case of gas leak / leak and fire; whom to contact; the emergency contact numbers, what checks are to be done by the receiver i) when the cylinder is received (this is normally done by the supplier / delivery boy in some occasions) and also ii) during regular use; the cylinder test date and due date for next testing by the company; instructions for the user to inform with contact numbers  if receives a cylinder after expiry date / damaged condition of the cylinder,etc. Normally, this type of information is provided on the industrial gas cylinders and similar information with more details should be made available to the domestic users.

Eariler a few years ago, when I was in my office, I received a call that outside our organization a lorry (truck) with gas cylinders was stopped because of gas leak. My self with a colleague visited the spot and found that all gas cylinders were unloaded onto the road side and also observed some white powder on a few cylinders. On enquiry with the driver of the lorry, we found that as a precautionary measure, he used the portable fire extinguisher in the lorry.  This also shows the poor knowledge of the drivers of hazardous chemicals. Though he will get licence for hazardous chemical transportation and will be renewed every year, the employers should ensure that all their staff get required training and retrained again and again. Without training, they should not be engaged in transportation at all.  Sometimes, the material brought by the driver will be different from what is mentioned on HAZCHEM information on the containers. The trained driver will ensure that correct HAZCHEM stickers are displayed on the container and this will help the others on the road also, if the driver is not in a position to take proper measures. In the drivers cabin also, the tools and personal protective equipment list and location should be displayed prominently for the same reason.

Normally, the procedure in case of gas leak is take the lorry to a less inhabitated / less crowded place atleast and cordon the area by atleast 300 m around, simulatneously inform the police and their employer and wait for instructions. In case of gas leak of a domestic cylinder in a house, inform the supplier, take the cylinder outside in to a open area (not through lift), remove ignition sources in the nearby area to the extent possible and wait for the supplier to do the needful. In the news item reported above, it appears the cylinder was put in the water tub inside the house and may the confinement of the house lead to accumulation of gas and it is not able to disperse. The ignition source is obvious as it happened in the house that belongs to a goldsmith with shop in it. Goldsmith will have fire kiln  or of such arranagement for making the ornaments. Moreover, the refill was delivered at about 1430 hours and the cylinder was handled soon for replacement as per the news item. This shows that it happened during the working hours of the gold smith shop.

Had the cylinder was put in a water tub or covered with wet blanket / cloth outside, the leaked gas could have dispersed easily and cylinder will have cooling to prevent overpressurization in case of fire nearby.

The incident of gas leak happened in my house also once a few months ago. When I replaced the empty cylinder with a full cylinder and opened the regulator knob, I found gas leaking from the cylinder nozzle. I removed the knob and placed cylinder cap and it arrested the gas leak. I opened all windows ( I stay in an apartment) informed the supplier immediately about the leak. I could not get connection to the supplier as the phone line was busy (obvious as he will be getting calls for refill bookings). My wife went to the supplier's office located at about 3 - 4 km from my house. It took about 15 - 20 minutes to reach the office as the traffic was more on the roads and by the time we tried by phone and then informed personally, more than 45 minutes time elapsed. Then, the person came about 2 hours later, checked the cylinder nozzle and replaced the rubber gasket in it. 

It may be routine call for the gas suppliers but the users will be under tremendous tension. In my case gas leaked only when connected and regulator knob is opened. If it is leaking even when the cylinder cap is not removed then imagine the plight of the people. Similarly if the leak occurs on a weekend or non-working hours of the gas supplier, then getting help is also very difficult.

Though emergency numbers are listed in the telephone directory, in emergency people will be panicky and may not remember what to do. Also, the the numbers in the directory may be old. Further, telephone directories are not published by all telephone companies. If the users are having only mobile phones, then they don't have any directory. Fortunately, now phone number 108 is available to contact in case help required when there is an emergency (fire/police/ambulance). But, how many people know this information is questionable. Only learned people with an eye on what is happening in their surroundings will know. Otherwise, there are many people who don't read news papers or look around billboards / stickers pasted at important places.

If this information and other important details as mentioned in the beginning of this article are displayed on the cylinder itself, it will be help for all the users. The information should be available in English, Hindi and the local language. Pasting of the sticker by the gas cylinder delivery agency should be made mandatory. If the agency is made responsible, then the sticker with instructions in local language along with English and Hindi can be ensured. The sticker may cost 2-3  rupees. But, this will definitely help the users. If stickers are not used and only pamphlets are distributed, users may lose them and utility can'g be guaranteed.

I will put some more information on this subject in my future posts.