Hazards On Tankers

By
Capt. Jal T Contractor
 Hazards On Tankers
• Flammability,
• Toxicity,
• Static,
• Pyrophoric Oxidation
• Gas Density
 Flammability
• FLAMMABILITY
• When petroleum is ignited, it is the gas that is
progressively given off by the liquid which
burns as a visible flame. The quantity of gas
available to be given off by a petroleum liquid
depends on its volatility which is frequently
expressed for purposes of comparison in
terms of Reid Vapour Pressure.
• Lower flammable limit (LFL)
• The concentration of a hydrocarbon gas in air
below which there is insufficient hydrocarbon to
support and propagate combustion. Sometimes
referred to as lower explosive limit (LEL).
• Upper flammable limit (UFL)
• The concentration of a hydrocarbon gas in air
above which there is insufficient oxygen to
support and propagate combustion. Sometimes
referred to as upper explosive limit (UEL).
• Flammable range (also referred to as
‘Explosive range’)
• The range of hydrocarbon gas concentrations
in air between the lower and upper
flammable (explosive) limits. Mixtures within
this range are capable of being ignited and of
burning.
• FLAMMABILITY CLASSIFICATION
• · Non-Volatile
• Flashpoint of 60ºC or above as determined by
the closed cup method of testing.
• · Volatile
• Flashpoint below 60ºC as determined by the
closed cup method of testing.
• If a cargo is being handled at a temperature
within 10C of its flashpoint, it should be
considered volatile.
• Therefore a cargo with a flashpoint of 80C
should be considered volatile if handled at a
temperature of 70C or above.
 Toxicity
• Acute Toxic Effect The effect on humans of a
single exposure of short duration to high
concentrations of a toxic compound or toxic
vapour.
• Chronic Toxic Effect The cumulative effect on
humans of prolonged exposures to low
concentrations of a toxic compound or toxic
vapour, or of intermittent exposures to higher
concentrations.
• Toxic substances can affect humans in four
main ways: by being swallowed (ingestion);
through skin contact; through the lungs
(inhalation) and through the eyes. Toxic
substances can have local effects, such as skin
or eye irritation, but can also affect other,
more distant, parts of the body (systemic
effects).
• 1 Ingestion
• Petroleum has low oral toxicity, but when
swallowed it causes acute discomfort and
nausea. There is then a possibility that liquid
petroleum may be drawn into the lungs during
vomiting and this can have serious
consequences, especially with higher volatility
products, such as gasolines and kerosenes.
• Skin Contact
• Many petroleum products, especially the more
volatile ones, cause skin irritation and remove
essential oils from the skin, leading to dermatitis.
They are also irritating to the eyes. Certain
heavier oils can cause serious skin disorders on
repeated and prolonged contact. Direct contact
with petroleum should always be avoided by
wearing the appropriate protective equipment,
especially impermeable gloves and goggles.
• Inhalation
• Comparatively small quantities of petroleum
gas when inhaled can cause symptoms of
diminished responsibility and dizziness similar
to drunkenness, with headache and irritation
of the eyes. The inhalation of a sufficient
quantity can be fatal.
 Inhalation

• These symptoms can occur at concentrations

well below the Lower Flammable Limit.
• However, petroleum gases vary in their
physiological effects and human tolerance to
these effects also varies widely. It should not
be assumed that because conditions can be
tolerated the gas concentration is within safe
limits.
 Inhalation

• The smell of petroleum gas mixtures is very

variable and in some cases the gases may dull
the sense of smell. The impairment of smell is
especially likely, and particularly serious, if the
mixture contains hydrogen sulphide.
• The absence of smell should never be taken to
indicate the absence of gas.
 TLV
• Threshold Limit Values (TLV)
• As a guide to permissible vapour concentrations
for prolonged exposure, such as might occur in
plant operation, various governmental authorities
publish systems of Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for
the toxic substances most handled by shipping
industry. The most comprehensive and widely
quoted system is that published by the American
Conference of Governmental and Industrial
Hygienists (ACGIH).
 TLV
• The recommended TLVs are updated annually
in the light of experience and increased
knowledge. The ACGIH system contains the
following three categories of TLV in order
adequately to describe the airborne
concentrations to which it is believed that
personnel may be exposed over a working life
without adverse effects. TLV systems
promulgated by advisory bodies in other
countries are generally similar in structure.
 TLV
• A) TLV-TWA. Time weighted average
concentration for an 8 hour day or 40 hour week
throughout working life.
• B) TLV-STEL. Short term exposure limit in terms of
the maximum concentration allowable for a
period of up to 15 minutes duration provided
there are no more than 4 such excursions per day
and at least 60 minutes between excursions.
• C) TLV-C. The ceiling concentration, which should
not be exceeded even instantaneously.
 TLV
• While most substances that are quoted are
allocated a TLV-TWA and a TLV-STEL, only
those which are predominantly fast-acting are
given a TLV-C.
• 0.1% Vol = 1000 PPM
• 0.2% Vol = 2000 PPM
TLV
 PYROPHORIC OXIDATION
• In an oxygen-free atmosphere where hydrogen
sulphide gas is present or, specifically, where the
concentration of hydrogen sulphide exceeds that
of the oxygen, iron oxide is converted to iron
sulphide. When the iron sulphide is subsequently
exposed to air, it is oxidised back to iron oxide
and either free sulphur or sulphur dioxide gas is
formed. This oxidation can be accompanied by
the generation of considerable heat so that
individual particles may become incandescent.
Rapid exothermic oxidation with incandescence is
termed pyrophoric oxidation.
 PYROPHORIC OXIDATION
• Pyrophoric iron sulphide i.e. iron sulphide
capable of pyrophoric oxidation in air, can
ignite flammable hydrocarbon gas/air
mixtures.
• PYROPHORIC OXIDATION hazard is mainly on
crude oil tankers and not on product carriers,
as tanks on product carriers are coated and
rust formation does not exist,
 Static Electricity
• Considerable emphasis is placed on ensuring that ship and shore
remain electrically isolated, together with the means of achieving
isolation, preferably by using an insulation flange within the shore
transfer system.
• Static electricity presents fire and explosion hazards during the
handling of petroleum and during other tanker operations such as
tank cleaning, dipping, ullaging and sampling. Certain operations
can give rise to accumulations of electric charge which may be
released suddenly in electrostatic discharges with sufficient energy
to ignite flammable hydrocarbon gas/air mixtures. There is, of
course, no risk of ignition unless a flammable mixture is present.
• There are three basic stages leading up to a potential static hazard:
 Static Electricity
• 1. Charge separation;
• 2. Charge accumulation; and
• 3. Electrostatic discharge.
• All three of these stages are necessary for an
electrostatic ignition of a flammable
atmosphere.
 Charge Accumulation
• Electrostatic discharges can occur as a result of
accumulations of charge on:
• • Liquid or solid non-conductors, for example, a static
accumulator oil (such as kerosene) pumped into a tank,
or say a polypropylene rope; and
• • Electrically insulated liquid or solid conductors, for
example mists, sprays or particulate suspensions in air,
or an un-bonded metal rod hanging on the end of a
rope.
• The principles of electrostatic hazards and the
precautions to be taken to manage the risks are fully
described below.
 Charge Separation
• CHARGE SEPARATION
• Whenever two dissimilar materials come into
contact, electrostatic charge occurs at the
interface.
• The interface may be between two solids,
between a solid and a liquid or between two
• Liquids that cannot undergo mixing or blending .)
At the interface, a charge of one sign (say
positive) moves from material A to material B so
that materials A and B become respectively
negatively and positively charged.
• While the materials stay in contact and
immobile relative to one another, the charges
are extremely close together. The voltage
difference between the charges of opposite
sign is then very small, and no hazard exists.
However, when the materials move relative to
one another, the charges can be separated
and the voltage difference increased.
• The charges can be separated by many processes.
For example:
• • The flow of liquid petroleum through pipes.
• • Flow through fine filters (less than 150 microns)
which have the ability to charge fuels to a very
high level, as a result of all the fuel being brought
into intimate contact withthe filter surface, where
charge separation occurs.
• • Contaminants, such as water droplets, rust or
other particles, moving relative to oil as a result
of turbulence in the oil as it flows through pipes.
• • The settling of a solid or an immiscible liquid
through a liquid (e.g. water, rust or other
particles through petroleum). This process may
continue for up to 30 minutes after the tank
contents have stopped moving.
• • Gas bubbles rising up through a liquid (e.g. air,
inert gas introduced into a tank by the blowing of
cargo lines or vapour from the liquid itself
released when pressure is dropped). This process
may also continue for up to 30 minutes after the
tank contents have stopped moving.
• • Turbulence and splashing in the early stages of
loading oil into an empty tank. This is both a problem
in the liquid and in the mist that can form above the
liquid
• • The ejection of particles or droplets from a nozzle
(e.g. during steaming operations).
• • The splashing or agitation of a liquid against a solid
surface (e.g. water washing operations or the initial
stages of filling a tank with oil).
• • The vigorous rubbing together and subsequent
separation of certain synthetic polymers (e.g. the
sliding of a polypropylene rope through gloved hands).
• When the charges are separated, a large voltage
difference can develop between them. A voltage
distribution is also set up throughout the neighbouring
space and this is known as an electrostatic field.
Examples of this are:
• • The charge on a charged petroleum liquid in a tank
produces an electrostatic field throughout the tank,
both in the liquid and in the ullage space; and
• • The charge on a water mist formed by tank washing
produces an electromagnetic field throughout the
tank.
 GENERAL PRECAUTIONS AGAINST
ELECTROSTATIC HAZARDS
• Measures that must be taken to prevent
electrostatic hazards whenever a flammable
atmosphere could potentially be present are:
• •The bonding of metal objects to the metal
structure of the ship to eliminate the risk of
spark discharges between metal objects that
might be electrically insulated. This includes
metallic components of any equipment used
for dipping, ullaging and sampling.
• The removal from tanks or other hazardous
areas, of any loose conductive objects that
cannot be bonded.
• •Restricting the linear velocity of the cargo to a
maximum of 1 metre per second at the individual
tank inlets during the initial stages of loading i.e.
until after the bottom structure is covered, all
splashing and surface turbulence has ceased, and
any water that may have been present is cleared
from the lines.
• Banning the use of all metallic equipment and all
non-metallic containers of more than 1 litre
capacity for dipping, ullaging and sampling during
loading and for 30 minutes after completion of
loading. After the 30 minute waiting period,
metallic equipment may be used for dipping,
ullaging and sampling but it must be effectively
bonded and securely earthed to the structure of
the ship before it is introduced into the tank and
must remain earthed until after removal.
• Operations carried out through a correctly
designed and installed sounding pipe are
permissible at any time. It is not possible for any
significant charge to accumulate on the surface of
the liquid within the sounding pipe and therefore
no waiting time is required.
• However, the precautions to be observed against
introducing charged objects into a tank still apply
and, if metallic equipment is used, it should be
bonded before being inserted into the sounding
pipe.
 GAS DENSITY
• The gases from most petroleum liquids are heavier
than air and inert gas, thus the possibility of layering of
gases is a very important consideration in cargo
handling operations. The density of the undiluted gas
from a high vapour pressure distillate, such as motor
gasoline, is likely to be about twice that of air and
about 1.5 times that from a typical crude oil. These
density differences diminish as the gases are diluted
with air.
• Flammable mixtures usually contain at least 90% by
volume of air and consequently have densities almost
indistinguishable from that of air.
• The densities of the gas mixtures evolved from
the normal petroleum liquids, when undiluted
with air, are all greater than the density of air.
Layering effects are therefore encountered in
cargo handling operations and can give rise to
hazardous situations.