HAZARDS OF TRAPPED PRESSURE AND VACUUM

ACCIDENT Ejected plug!

Remember that gases accumulate energy when compressed (this is how an
air rifle works). Therefore, a system under gas pressure is exactly like a
loaded rifle waiting to be discharged.

Exchanger plug blowout.

Energy stored in a pneumatic test is far greater than for a hydraulic

test and therefore a hydraulic test is always the safer option.

ACCIDENT Drum failed due to corrosion!

A drum was being pneumatically tested for
leaks to meet a certain design pressure. The
drum failed during the test, blowing off the
end of the drum, a 4 ft by 4 ft (1.2 m by 1.2 m)
piece of steel, with enough force to throw the
plate across the road narrowly missing an
employee, who if hit would have certainly
been seriously injured or killed.
The tank had design pressure of 125 psi
(9 bar) but failed at 80 psi (5.5 bar) because it was badly corroded.

• Never use air or gas for a pressure proof test. The energy stored in a
pneumatic test is far greater than for a hydraulic test and therefore hydraulic
testing is always safer.
• When carrying out a hydraulic test, always ensure that all places where
air/gas could be trapped have been vented and the area around the test
barricaded.
• When working on a piece of equipment that may contain residual air or gas
pressure, never stand in front of it (for example, heater pipe plug, heat
exchanger tube, pig receiver door).

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HAZARDS OF TRAPPED PRESSURE AND VACUUM

ACCIDENT Fire extinguisher failed due to corrosion!

An operator was killed when he applied a hand-held fire extinguisher to put
out a small smouldering fire. Part of the bottom of the extinguisher cracked
open when the internal CO2 cylinder opened (225 psi/17 bar) hitting the fire
watch in the chest. The cause of the incident was corrosion outside the
bottom of the cylinder under the rubber protective foot. Water entered the
rubber lining causing serious corrosion on the outside of the extinguisher.
Equipment must be checked regularly and before use.

ACCIDENT Tank lift off and land on top of process unit !!!
This incident occurred during
a pneumatic test of the tank
associated piping. A blind
was not installed to isolate
the piping, only block valves
were isolating the tank from
the piping. When pressure
was applied, the tank ‘lifted
off’ and was found on top of
the unit!

ACCIDENT Fatal testing!

In a welding shop, two workers pressurized two 16-inch ‘pig traps’ to 150 bars
(2,150 psi) to check the welds. Then one of the workers, a young worker,
started to disassemble the connection between the piping being tested and
the pressure-recording device. However, he did not depressurize the piping
pieces first. He used a pipe wrench to remove a test tee from a 1-inch ball
valve that isolated the test tee from the piping pieces. The test tee did not
unthread from the valve as expected. Instead, the valve itself unthreaded
from the pipe nipple connecting the valve to the still-pressurized pig traps. As
a result, the valve and the test tee shot upwards, striking the worker and
causing serious injuries. He died in hospital after surgery.

For more details and recommendations on this incident, refer to

www.WorkSafeBC.com.

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