Recall that there was a large accidental explosion at the Bayer Cropscience facility in Institute, W. Virginia, on Aug 28, 2008. Details of this incident were reported by me in a post on this blog, you can refer it here. Now the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has announced that it will be … Read more
Is it possible that if we use gas detectors to continuosly monitor the explosive limits in a classified (hazardous) location, we could manage it better? Of course! If you recall, the area classification concept itself is based on the amount of time in a year, an explosive gas mixture (or a combustible dust-air mixture) is … Read more
In a typical large chemical manufacturing plant or facility, typically there may be hundreds of gas detectors and gas monitors that warn operators about lurking hazards related to leaking chemicals and vapors. These detectors are installed during the plant startup or possibly are added after a few incidents or as the result of HAZOP or … Read more
Continuing with our series on the US Chemical Safety Board accident investigation videos, we discuss today the most insidous and hidden hazards in the chemical processing industry-Static Electricity. Why is static electricity so hazardous in chemical plants? Simply because many inflammable liquids (like most solvents), tend to accumulate static charges on their surface, especially when … Read more
