32 1.

PREPARATION FOR MAINTENANCE

way, removing all the bolts. The joint blew apart, and the fitter received
head injuries from which he will never fully recover [37].
(c) It is not only flammable oils that cause accidents. In another incident,
two workers were badly scalded when removing the cover from a
large valve on a hot water line, although the gauge pressure was
only 9 in. of water (0.33 psi or 0.023 bar). They removed all the nuts,
attached the cover to a chain block, and tried to lift it. To release the
cover they tried to rock it. The cover suddenly released itself, and
hot water flowed out onto the workers’ legs.

1.5.2 Use of Excessive Force

A joint on an 8-in. line containing a hot solvent had to be remade. The
two sides were 3⁄4-in. out of line. There was a crane in the plant at the
time, so it was decided to use it to lift one of the lines slightly. The lifting
strap pulled against a 3⁄4-in. branch and broke it off (Figure 1-11).
It was not a good idea to use a crane for a job like this on a line full of
process material. Fortunately, the leaking vapor did not ignite, although
nearby water was being pumped out of an excavation. At one time a die-
sel pump would have been used, but the use of diesel pumps had been
banned only a few months before the incident.
Section 2.11.1 describes an explosion caused by the failure of nuts that
had been tightened with excessive force.

1.5.3 Ignorance of Material Strength

(a) When a plant came back on line after a long shutdown, some of the
flanges had been secured with stud bolts and nuts instead of ordi-
nary bolts and nuts. And some of the stud bolts were located so that

FIGURE 1-11 A branch broke when a crane was used to move a live line.