Three BSEE Safety Alerts
Mechanical Integrity and Luck in all three cases
BSEE (the United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement) has issued three Safety Alerts. As always, we look for process safety lessons from these events.
Alert #493 ― Corrosion Caused Pipeline Explosion
An 8” gas pipeline failed, leading to a fire.
The process safety element most relevant to this incident is Mechanical Integrity.
Alert #494 ― Nitrogen Cylinder Rupture
A severely corroded nitrogen cylinder failed.
Once more, the process safety element most relevant to this incident is Mechanical Integrity.
Alert #495 ― Turbine Generator Exhaust Failure
The silencer on a turbine exhaust failed. Large pieces of metal were scattered around the deck of the platform.
Yet again, the relevant process safety element is Mechanical Integrity.
So, in all three cases we have problems with Mechanical Integrity, along with the related topic of Inspection. In the first two incidents, and possibly the third, the severity of the marine environment was a contributing factor.
Another factor in all three incidents was luck. The nitrogen cylinder failure led to three minor injuries; there were none in the other two incidents. However, any one of these events could have led to serious injuries or fatalities.
