The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has recently issued recommendations in an effort to protect workers and residents, while preventing chemical leaks in refineries. Setting up leak detection systems is one step towards the detection of either gas or liquid leaks. Read this article to learn more about the CSB recommendations and why they are essential to prevent any emergency situation arising due to uncontrolled gas leaks.
Safety Guidance For Responding To Hazardous Process Fluid Leaks A Must
The CSB has highlighted the need for safety guidance to tackle fluid leaks in one of its many recommendations. This will help in plugging the fluid leaks, before it proves to be catastrophic for workers and residents in the surrounding area. It necessitates preventive action and having a safety mechanism to deal with situations like sulfidation corrosion failures.
As shared in a recent news article:
“Based on its findings, CSB recommends that the American Petroleum Institute establish and strengthen minimum requirements for preventing potentially catastrophic sulfidation corrosion failures and safety guidance for responding to hazardous process fluid leaks.”
Efforts To Improve Safety Culture A Must
The investigation conducted by the CSB on the fire that took place near a Chevron refinery in the year 2012 has revealed that regulatory shortcomings and a flawed safety culture may have worsened the problem at the refinery, creating health issues for both residents and workers.
Jenifer Baires said in a recent article:
“The investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board found that the Aug. 6, 2012, fire, which endangered 19 refinery workers and sent more than 15,000 residents to hospitals, was caused by a combination of regulatory shortcomings, a flawed Chevron safety culture and insufficient emergency efforts that likely exacerbated the problem.”
Refinery owners should make safety a priority for refinery workers and cultivate a safety work culture and set in place a safety protocol. They should reward workers who identify weaknesses in the system or alert the management about anything that could pose a safety risk for either workers or residents.