US agency urges check of reinstalled process parts

15 October 2006 18:04  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) on Sunday warned chemical and refining firms to ensure their maintenance procedures include the positive identification of reinstalled parts.

The CSB safety bulletin was a response to its investigation of a 28 July 2005 accident at BP’s 460,000 bbl/day Texas City, Texas refinery. A pipe rupture in the residual hydrotreater unit resulted in fire that caused a reported $30m (€24m) in damages and injured one worker.

The accident followed by four months an accident in the refinery’s isomerization unit that killed 15 workers and injured another 180 persons. CSB said its final report on the March blast would be issued early next year.

CSB said during routine maintenance of BP’s resid hydrotreater in February 2005, contractor JV Industrial removed and reinstalled three pipe elbows of identical dimensions and appearance. Two were of alloy steel and were resistant to the effects of high-temperature hydrogen, but the third elbow was made of carbon steel, which is not resistant.

CSB said the contractor inadvertently switched the carbon steel elbow with one of the alloy steel elbows. BP had not informed the contractor that the elbows were not interchangeable. The carbon steel elbow failed four months later, venting hydrogen gas.

“There are important safety lessons for oil and chemical companies from this incident. Positive materials verification of the components in piping systems can avoid simple mix-ups that can have devastating consequences,” said CSB chair Carolyn Merritt in a statement.

“In addition, companies should design critical components so that they cannot be accidentally interchanged - especially if the potential consequences of an error are catastrophic,” she said.

CSB is an independent federal agency that investigates chemical accidents at fixed facilities. It issues reports and recommendations but has no powers to issue citations or fines.

By: Patrick Crow
+1 713 525 2653

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