8 1.

PREPARATION FOR MAINTENANCE

one of the pipelines attached to the vessel. The reactor head was blown
off and killed two men. It was estimated that 7 kg of hydrocarbon vapor
could have caused the explosion.
After the accident, demonstration cuts were made in the workshop.
It was found that as the abrasive wheel broke through the pipe wall, a
small flame occurred, and the pipe itself glowed dull red.
The explosion could have been prevented by isolating the reactor
by slip-plates or physical disconnection. This incident and the others
described show that valves are not good enough.

1.1.4 Isolation of Service Lines

A mechanic was affected by fumes while working on a steam drum.
One of the steam lines from the drum was used for stripping a process col-
umn operating at a gauge pressure of 30 psi (2 bar). A valve on the line to
the column was closed, but the line was not slip-plated. When the steam
pressure was blown off, vapors from the column came back through the
leaking valve into the steam lines (Figure 1-3).
The company concerned normally used slip-plates to isolate equip-
ment under repair. On this occasion, no slip-plate was fitted because it
was “only” a steam line. However, steam and other service lines in plant
areas are easily contaminated by process materials, especially when there
is a direct connection to process equipment. In these cases, the equipment
under repair should be positively isolated by slip-plating or disconnec-
tion before maintenance.
When a plant was taken out of use, the cooling water lines were left full
of water. Dismantling started nearly 20 years later. When a mechanic cut
a cooling water line open with a torch, there was a small fire. Bacteria had
degraded impurities in the water, forming hydrogen and methane [20].

FIGURE 1-3 Contamination of a steam drum by process materials.