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Commitment to Process Safety

The Cornerstone of process safety excellence. A workforce that is actively involved and an organization that fully supports process safety as a core value will tend to do the right things in the right ways at the right times-even when no one else is looking.

Explosions in Transformer and Circuit-Breaker Tanks Due to Arcing Events

Apr 4, 2012
Timothy L. Morse
Industrial transformers and circuit breakers operate with large voltage differences between current-carrying internal components and the grounded tank walls. A breakdown in the dielectric strength of the insulating oil in the tank due to contamination or other causes can lead to the formation of an...

Evaluation of Dispersion Models for LNG Siting Applications

Apr 4, 2012
Andrew Kohout
The federal safety standards for LNG facilities under 49 CFR Part 193 approves the use of specific dispersion models for performing vapor-gas dispersion exclusion zones. In addition, provisions allow for the use of alternative models if approved by PHMSA. In 2010, PHMSA, in consultation with FERC,...

Flash Fire From a Hot Combustible Liquid

Apr 4, 2012
Russell A. Ogle
A truck driver loading a tanker was fatally injured in a flash fire. The accident occurred at the loading rack of a petroleum refinery. The truck driver was on top of the tank trailer loading a liquid petroleum byproduct material similar to asphalt through an open hatch on the trailer. The material...

More LOPA Misapplied: Common Errors and How to Avoid Them

Apr 4, 2012
Karen Study
Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) continues to be more and more widely utilized in the Petrochemical and other industries. LOPA is a “simplified” tool, which is true relative to tools such as Quantitative Risk Assessment and Fault Tree Analysis. However, simplified does not mean simple on an...

Beware of the Black Swan

Apr 4, 2012
John Murphy
In 16 th century London, a statement that describes impossibility was referred to as a “black swan” because all historical records of swans up to that time had reported that swans only had white feathers. The Greek philosopher Aristotle first used the term “white swan” as an example of necessary...

On the Catastrophic Explosion of the AZF Plant in Toulouse (September 21, 2001)

Apr 4, 2012
Georges Guiochon
On the Catastrophic Explosion of the AZF plant in Toulouse (September 21, 2001) Georges Guiochon and Laurent Jacob Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996-1600, USA During the morning of September 21, 2001, a warehouse containing ca. 300 metric tons of production...

Inherently Safer Technology Implementation -Risk Reduction and Risk Shifting

Apr 4, 2012
Iclal Atay
On March 25, 2008 the State of New Jersey adopted rules requiring facilities regulated under the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act (TCPA) Program to perform Inherently Safer Technology (IST) reviews. By January 2010, 85 facilities performed IST reviews and submitted their findings to the New Jersey...

Dust Explosions: Case Study of Dryer Explosions and Poor Explosion Vent Design

Apr 4, 2012
Scott G. Davis
Four recent explosions occurred in a single burner, recirculating solids ring dryer. The dryer was equipped with a recirculating fan, a burner section, a section to introduce the solids, a ring duct, a pre-separator and four cyclones. Seven explosion doors were also used to protect the integrity of...

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