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    Explosion in An Exhumed Empty MS Storage Tank

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    Manish Chandani
    An empty underground storage tank that had previously been used at a retail outlet exploded the day after it was exhumed and moved to an open area for storage. Two girls ages 11 and 13 who were playing nearby were hit by debris from the explosion, and both died from their injuries. An investigation found the probable causes were that the tank was not made gas-free before being moved, residual sludge inside could have emitted vapors as temperatures rose, and an ignition source may have come from people trespassing through a damaged boundary wall. Recommended preventive measures included mandatory degassing and cleaning of empty tanks before exhumation and improved security and surveillance of storage areas.

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    Explosion in An Exhumed Empty MS Storage Tank

    Uploaded by

    Manish Chandani
    43 views2 pages
    An empty underground storage tank that had previously been used at a retail outlet exploded the day after it was exhumed and moved to an open area for storage. Two girls ages 11 and 13 who were playing nearby were hit by debris from the explosion, and both died from their injuries. An investigation found the probable causes were that the tank was not made gas-free before being moved, residual sludge inside could have emitted vapors as temperatures rose, and an ignition source may have come from people trespassing through a damaged boundary wall. Recommended preventive measures included mandatory degassing and cleaning of empty tanks before exhumation and improved security and surveillance of storage areas.

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    ExplosionExhumedEmptyMSStorageTank.pdf

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    An empty underground storage tank that had previously been used at a retail outlet exploded the day after it was exhumed and moved to an open area for storage. Two girls ages 11 and 13 who were playing nearby were hit by debris from the explosion, and both died from their injuries. An investigation found the probable causes were that the tank was not made gas-free before being moved, residual sludge inside could have emitted vapors as temperatures rose, and an ignition source may have come from people trespassing through a damaged boundary wall. Recommended preventive measures included mandatory degassing and cleaning of empty tanks before exhumation and improved security and surveillance of storage areas.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    43 views2 pages

    Explosion in An Exhumed Empty MS Storage Tank

    Uploaded by

    Manish Chandani
    An empty underground storage tank that had previously been used at a retail outlet exploded the day after it was exhumed and moved to an open area for storage. Two girls ages 11 and 13 who were playing nearby were hit by debris from the explosion, and both died from their injuries. An investigation found the probable causes were that the tank was not made gas-free before being moved, residual sludge inside could have emitted vapors as temperatures rose, and an ignition source may have come from people trespassing through a damaged boundary wall. Recommended preventive measures included mandatory degassing and cleaning of empty tanks before exhumation and improved security and surveillance of storage areas.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Explosion in an Exhumed Empty MS Storage Tank

    The Incident
    A fatal incident occurred due to explosion in an exhumed empty storage tank. The
    underground storage tank was in MS service in a retail outlet. It was exhumed,
    shifted and stowed away in an open plot of land earmarked by the concerned oil
    company for storing such exhumed empty tanks from retail outlets on 31.01.12.
    On 01.02.2012, i.e. day after the tank was kept, the exhumed tank exploded at
    around 17.20 Hrs. The impact was such that one of the dish ends of the tank blew
    up in the air and landed 150 meters away in an adjacent slum area.
    Two girls - aged 11 & 13 yrs. - who were playing on that ground was hit by the dish
    end. One girl died on the spot and the other girl died en-route hospital.
    The Probable Cause

    Exhumed tank was not made gas free before shifting.

    The tank was not cleaned of sludge inside and the sludge might have
    emanated enough vapour due to temp rise in day time creating
    hydrocarbon rich atmosphere around the said tank.

    Source of ignition, either from smoking/ direct open fire/other source


    might have been provided by trespassing slum dwellers in the area thru'
    damaged boundary wall.

    Concerned Oil Company had constituted an internal committee for investigating the
    incident and on perusal of the report observed Root Cause of the incident, other
    contributing factors to the incident, Engineering lapses and recommended preventive
    measures are as under:
    Root cause of the incident

    No work permit was issued to the contractor by the authorized oil


    company personnel to the contractor.

    Contractor entrusted with the job of exhuming & shifting the tank out
    from the retail outlet has not ensured degassing of the tank.

    There was also no mechanism of the concerned oil company in place to


    supervise the above activities of the contractor.

    a)

    b)

    Other contributing factors

    Storage of exhumed tank in an area where boundary wall was broken at


    several places resulting trespassing from slum area.

    Ineffective security arrangement resulting lack in security and surveillance.


    Procedural & Engineering lapses

    The work permit issuance system has not been followed as defined in
    clause 9 of OISD STD-225 i.e. Storage, Handling & Dispensing at
    Petroleum Retail Outlets.

    The storage area access control wall was breached and not repaired
    allowing free public access compromising the safety standards with
    hazardous petroleum vapour in the atmosphere.

    The tank was not having any manhole and this may have posed difficulties
    to the contractor in de-gassing and sludge removal of the tank.

    Recommended preventive measures


    De-gassing and cleaning to be mandatorily practiced in case of
    exhumation of empty used storage tanks before exhumation irrespective
    of the fact whether hot work is to be performed or not.
    Adequate and effective measures for security and surveillance of area
    earmarked for storage of empty used storage tanks after exhumation from
    Retail Outlets.

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