Technological University of the Philippines - Taguig

Western Bicutan, Taguig

A Case Study on the Emerging Morbidity and Mortality Among Welders: A Welder Killed
in an Explosion

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement in

Welding Processes

Submitted by:

Jara, Dave Lawrence

Litrana, Xanthe Yze

Lopez, Elisha Maris

Submitted to:

Mr. Clinton Icuspit

June 2021
Introduction

The findings of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) investigation into Jesse
Franke Welding's death a welder who died in an explosion on March 7, 2013 at the Powerstroke
Well Control Ltd. (Powerstroke) plant in Grande Prairie are detailed in this article. Powerstroke
Well Control Ltd. (Powerstroke) is a subsidiary of Power Energy Holdings Inc., which was
founded in 2004. Power Energy Holdings Inc. merged with Canadian Special Services Inc. in
2011. The company now claims to be Canada's largest privately held snubbing services supplier.
The company's headquarters and shop are in Grande Prairie, Alberta (AB), and it has operations
in Red Deer, Alberta (AB), Kindersley, Saskatchewan (SK), and Fort St. John, British Columbia
(BC) (BC).

The Powerstroke field crew was at a Nuvista Energy Ltd. (Nuvista) wellsite on March 6,
2013. With the glycol from Unit 7-04, they concluded pressure testing the well head and
snubbing equipment. They employed well bore pressure to force the glycol back to the tank on
Unit 7-04 while recovering the glycol from the equipment. This resulted in two holes in the tank
and a leak. The field crew attempted to stop the leak and informed the Powerstroke operations
manager that Unit 7-04 would be taken to the shop for repairs. They looked at the liquid that
flowed out of the tank. It was determined by the operations manager to take a sample of it. The
operations manager poured some of the liquid into an empty coffee cup. The operations manager
dumped the contents onto Unit 7-04's deck and attempted to fire it with a lighter. The sample of
fluid did not ignite. With the arc wire welder, the welder repaired the hole near the top of the
glycol tank. The glycol tank exploded as the welder attempted to fix the second hole. The welder
was knocked off the back end of Unit 7-04 and into the shop bay door, where he died instantly
from head trauma.

This is an important matter, Investigating what happened will explain why it did not
explode when a lighter was used to ignite the fluid that had spilled into the tank, but burst when
it began welding the holes in the tank. This investigation will also assist us in understanding the
hazards and disasters that might occur in the workplace, allowing us to strengthen our safety
practices and equipment, as well as be prepared for the possibility of tragedy.
Background Information

On the report of Occupational Safety and Health Administration an estimated of 562,000

employeess health are at risk for exposure to chemical and physical hazards of welding, cutting
and brazing. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1993 have recorded fifty-eight deaths from welding
and cutting incidents, including explosions, electrocutions, asphyxiation, falls and crushing
injuries.This risk of fatal injury is more than four per thousand workers over a working lifetime.

Heavy metal poisoning, lung cancer, metal fume fever, flash burns, and other health risks are
linked to exposure to fumes, gases, and ionizing radiation created or emitted during welding,
cutting, and brazing. These dangers differ based on the welding materials used and the welding
surfaces used.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health "excesses in morbidity
and mortality among welders appear to exist even when exposures have been reported to be
below current OSHA PELs for the numerous separate components of welding emissions,".
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) has received 11 reports of workers or
onlookers welding a container when it exploded since 2012, two of which resulted in fatalities.
During the same time period, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland issued 14 notices – 13
improvement notices and one restriction notice – relating to workers or onlookers welding a
container after it is extinguished.

An incident report of a welder killed in an explosion on the year of 2013, March 07 relevent to
the emerging cases of mortality among welders. A welder who is working at the Powerstroke
Well Control Ltd. (Powerstroke) facility in Grande Prairie was fatally injured while he was
welding the holes on the glycol tank when it exploded.

The Glycol Tank the welder was working on to was made of steel measuring 0.60 metres (m)
wide by 1.82 m long by 0.97 m high giving a total volume of 1.0 m3 and a A 1 m3 tote was used
to contain the fluid drained from the tank when it came into the Powerstroke shop for repair. The
fluid recovered from the glycol tank had two distinct colour layers. The welding equipment used
to repair the hole was an arc Millermatic 251 wire welder. It was grounded to the level tube on
the glycol tank and used on the outside of the glycol tank on Unit 7-04 to repair two small holes
that penetrated the steel tank.

Two small holes were exposed when the welder removed one of the steel straps from the glycol
tank. The welder used an air grinding tool to prepare the surface of each hole for a weld repair,
then used the arc wire welder to repair the hole towards the top of the glycol tank. The glycol
tank exploded as the welder attempted to fix the second hole.

Solution

On March 6, 2013, while on a well site location, a glycol pump truck developed a leak in the
glycol tank. The truck was brought into the shop, and the glycol tank was emptied. The
following morning, a welder was welding the holes on the glycol tank when it exploded and
fatally injured the welder. The RCMP notified OHS of the incident. The OHS investigators
arrived at the scene. A sampling company was retained to take samples of the fluid contained in
the plastic tote. Testing showed the top layer taken from the tote had a flash point less than 89°C
(Celsius). OHS investigators contacted Nuvista who provided samples from the well where Unit
7-04 was last located. Samples from the well site showed there were condensate fluids present
with flashpoints as low as 17°C.

The glycol tank was made of steel measuring 0.60 meters (m) wide by 1.82 m long by 0.97 m
high giving a total volume of 1.0 m3. The product was purchased in 205 liters (L) drums and
loaded into the glycol tank when needed. Take note the Fluid-Bag is a flexible container for
greases, oils, coolants, and other liquid and semi-solid products used in the mining industry, at
steel plants, and manufacturing industries. So that there has a large probability of the tank may
explode

The most common injury arising from welding is being burned. When a worker is burned, the
injury can be fatal due to the intense heat and pressure that contact the skin. Apart from burns,
welding injuries may also be due to exposure to harmful UV or Ultraviolet Radiation and IR or
Infrared Radiation. UV rays can also cause burns in the skin as well as cause an eye condition
called arc-eye which affects the eyes’ lenses. IR radiation on the other hand causes scarring and
thermal burns which can cause discomfort and pain. We just need to remember the accident
prevention in weldings like exposure to fume, welding position, location and type of workplace,
exposure and duration, and control of welding fume. Preventing like this situations we must need
some right knowledge doing these things in the matter of fact the before you weld something you
must know what is in the inside or what is the components of the metal or what is in the inside of
it. In a larger sense doing this is a big deal because it is for our safety.

Recommendations

Welding produces heat, flames, and sparks, all of which are ignition sources. Sources of
ignition, when mixed with fuel and oxygen, pose a considerable risk of fire and explosion. While
common flammable liquids like petrol, avgas, and ethanol pose the biggest dangers, combustible
liquids like diesel fuel and oils can behave like flammable liquids when heated. These liquids
may produce vapours when heated, which, if enclosed, can cause an explosion if ignited. In an
atmosphere with a concentration of flammable gas, vapour, mist, or fumes above 5% of its lower
flammability limit, you must handle health and safety risks connected with an ignition source
(hazardous atmosphere).

To prevent and avoid welding explosions we must be aware of all the risks and hazards
and must have the expertise regarding the welding and especially understand the safety
precautions needed. The following are some of the fire and explosion prevention measures:

 Isolate the fuel and ignition sources so that they don't interact.
 Before welding or other hot-work activities, remove all flammable or combustible objects
from containers such as drums, vessels, and tanks.

References

Alberta Government (June, 2019) retrieved from https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/103807cd-0a25-

475c-a2e3-a7971e79e54f/resource/5bed6933-9aee-4333-9ab3-12303b4056d8/download/13-03-
07-powerstroke-report-public.pdf