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WHAT’S HAPPENING? September 2017 WE WELCOME THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS CORPORATE MEMBERS Post Buncefield Review of Vapour Cloud Affinity Fire Engineering Victoria Explosion Incidents by UK HSE Marair Dangerous Goods Major incidents worldwide have involved large vapour cloud Specialists Pty Ltd explosions, including the Buncefield explosion in 2005. It is Victoria important to learn from historical incidents to understand the risk profile of installations. ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Following the Buncefield explosion, a large body of published research has improved scientific understanding of the release Raoul McAlister fRDM Solutions event, the flammable cloud formation and the explosion. This report describes work done by HSE with US safety regulators to Grant Breeze consolidate previous research and to incorporate recently STORESAFE published analysis into a single, systematic review of historical incidents. Important new conclusions have been reached that a Trevor Savage high proportion of large vapour cloud explosions occur at nil or very SafeWork NSW low wind speeds. In these conditions, the dispersion from large and Kurt Thoren medium scale releases will be gravity-driven and the vapour cloud AECOM QLD will continue to grow as long as it remains undetected. Large vapour clouds will almost always ignite, the probability of a Michael Tilden severe explosion event is very high, especially for gasoline. SafeWork NSW These findings have important implications for safety practitioners STUDENT MEMBERS considering installations where such releases of flammable substances can occur. Amy Zander They reinforce the importance of the main risk control measures of University of QLD overfill prevention and maintaining plant integrity; but they also suggest that the value of mitigation measures such as vapour Elysha Taylor UNSW detectors and vapour barriers should be reviewed. DOWNLOAD DOCUMENT US CSB Bulletin Hits the Basics of Safety A new safety bulletin released Sept. 18 by the U.S. Chemical Safety Cause of 2016 Board at its public business meeting on ExxonMobil Baton Rouge ExxonMobil Refinery refinery fire hits the key basic elements of safety: organizational Fire culture, human factors, the hierarchy of controls, and training. It all of these areas, it says the refinery fell short at the time of the Nov. The US Chemical Safety 22, 2016, fire that severely burned four workers. Board tracked down the It occurred during maintenance activities when operators removed cause of a 2016 fire at bolts that secured a piece of pressure-containing equipment to a an ExxonMobil refinery plug valve. When the operators attempted to open the plug valve, in Baton Rouge, the valve came apart and released flammable hydrocarbons that Louisiana formed a vapour cloud and quickly ignited. "Our investigation found that these accepted practices were The findings were part conducted without appropriate safety hazard analysis, needlessly of a safety bulletin that injuring these workers. It is important to remember that good the board released to safety practices are good maintenance practices and good help prevent similar business practices," CSB Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland accidents. said. Key lessons discussed in the bulletin include applying the hierarchy of controls to mitigate identified hazards, noting that an engineering control, such as improved valve design, is more effective than a lower-level administrative control, such as a sign warning workers that the gearbox support bracket connects to pressure-containing components. The board concluded that updating all of the older valves to the safer valve design, as was done to approximately 97 percent of the valves in the unit, would have ultimately prevented the fire. "Our investigation also revealed a culture at the refinery that was accepting of operators performing maintenance on malfunctioning plug valve gearboxes without written procedures or adequate training, which in this instance resulted in a hazardous event," Investigator Mark Wingard said. Key Lessons: Evaluate human factors - interactions among humans and other elements of a system - associated with operational difficulties that exist at a facility in relation to machinery and other equipment, especially when the equipment is part of a process covered by OSHA's Process Safety Management standard. Apply the hierarchy of controls to mitigate the identified hazards. Establish detailed and accurate procedures for workers performing potentially hazardous work, including job tasks such as removing an inoperable gearbox. Provide training to ensure workers can perform all anticipated job tasks safely. The training should include a focus on processes and equipment to improve hazard awareness and help prevent chemical incidents. “Chemical Incident” at Queensland School A plumber was taken to hospital after a drain he was clearing overflowed with a "solvent acid" at a school south of Brisbane. The plumber had been clearing a blockage in a drain at one of the school's bathroom with solvent acid when it overflowed "back into his face", a workplace health and safety officer said. Police confirmed there had been no explosion at the school, despite earlier reports. Two Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) crews The man was treated for facial burns and taken to Logan Hospital. were sent to Logan Reserve State Fire crews hosed down the bathroom and conducted atmospheric School. Photo: Jorge Branco monitoring and deemed the area safe. Source: Brisbane Times Sydney Dry Cleaning Shop Fire A Mona Vale dry-cleaning store was gutted by fire, sending hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing and equipment up in smoke. Patrolling police officers saw smoke coming from a strip of shops. Circumstances surrounding the blaze are still being investigated. Hangout Dry Cleaning owner Alex Tran said: “The firefighters are unsure how it started because at the front of the shop there is no machinery, so for some reason it just went up.” Neighbouring stores – a hairdresser and a fish-and-chips shop – appear not to have been damaged. Source: Daily Telegraph Toxic Fumes at S.A. Nursing Service Fire Ten people have been taken to hospital after they were overwhelmed by fumes at the Royal District Nursing Service in Keswick. Emergency services were dispatched to the Richmond Rd centre in response to reports of a chemical smell in the building. Six MFS appliances including specialist hazmat crews responded and atmospheric monitoring has detected the presence of paint thinners. The centre was completely evacuated. The MFS said ten people were treated at the scene by paramedics for inhalation of an unknown solvent, and were taken to hospital as a precaution. The MFS tested all floors before occupants returned. Source: The Advertiser ‘chemical mist’ blows in at U.K. Beach A packed tourist spot was plunged into chaos after hundreds of beachgoers suddenly fell ill following a suspected chemical leak. Officials confirmed 238 people were 'decontaminated' in hospital when a mystery 'chlorine' mist crept across the sea towards Beachy Head . Emergency services evacuated the area after bank holidaymakers suffered burning eyes, breathing difficulties and vomiting. Hospital staff donned hazmat Medics were seen treating victims while covered head-to-toe in suits to treat the slew of beachgoers. (Reuters) protective hazmat suits. The RNLI said that "possibly some kind of gaseous fumes" had drifted over the scene and a significant number of people on cliff tops had been struck down with symptoms including irritation, sore eyes and vomiting. Police have since warned people along the coast from Eastbourne to Birling Gap to stay away from the beach, and to keep windows and doors shut. “The source has not yet been established,” Sussex Police said in a statement about the “haze”, which is now shifting to the east. VIDEOS and Source Experts study images from space as they try to solve ‘chemical leak’ mystery A toxic cloud which left 150 people needing treatment may have been poison gas from a corroding World War One munitions ship. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said a disturbed 100-year-old shipwreck could have caused the haze which hit the East Sussex coast. Dozens of the vessels sank heading to France and fishermen have previously caught munitions in their nets in the area. The cloud caused stinging eyes, sore throats and vomiting — symptoms similar to those from inhaling poison gas — at Birling Gap last Sunday. The agency said the gas could also have come from one of 180 or so current vessels in the Channel that day. A spokesman said: “We are considering a number of possibilities, such as previously unreported lost cargo, and emissions from known shipwrecks.” Source: The Sun Huge Blaze rips through a Chinese Gas Station after a Fuel Tanker explodes whilst unloading Electrical Surge travels through Gas Pipe An excavator drive drove over the electrical pillar, which supplied all electricity to an apartment block, on the boundary of two buildings in Gladesville, Sydney. It is believed that this caused an electrical earthing/arcing event, sending a surge through the closest conductive materials – including the gas line into the building. Travelling through this gas pipe, into the building and up to the gas meter room on the 5th floor where it broke out of the gas pipe, causing both a gas leak and an electrical arc – setting the room alight. The rubber seal around the door and lack of ventilation starved the fire of oxygen and it went out on its own. Source: Northern District Times Ghana Soap Factory Explosion Two people are dead following a fuel tank explosion at Delta Agro Limited, a soap manufacturing company at the Heavy Industrial Area of Tema. There was only one survivor among the three persons contracted by the company to do some fabrication work on the reservoir which sends fuel to machines at the factory. The welders were doing hot fabrication on the fuel tank at a time when there was built-up pressure in it and so it exploded. It is reported that this is the second time such an incident has occurred in the company, with both incidents recording casualties.