BP must fix hazards now
An OSHA inspection has revealed more than 60 violations of safety practice at the Toledo refinery in Oregon which could cost BP more than $3 million in fines. This latest fine for BP comes just months after regulators imposed a record penalty on the company over its refinery in Texas. BP committed 42 alleged willful violations and 20 alleged serious violations for exposing workers to safety hazards. Willful violations are defined as those committed with indifference to employee safety and health, and with intentional disregard for the law. Violations included failure to provide adequate pressure relief for process units, failure to provide safeguards to prevent the hazardous accumulation of fuel in process heaters, exposing...

Digital valve controller installed without linkages at Australian ammonia plant
Emerson Process Management has expanded its Fieldvue instrument product line with the DVC6200 Series digital valve controller, featuring linkage-less, non-contact feedback technology. The Fieldvue DVC6200 instrument was designed for applications that experience high levels of vibration, corrosion, or material entrapment....

CSB sheds light on fatal Kleen Energy explosion
The Kleen Energy accident occurred during a planned work activity to clean debris from natural gas pipes at the plant. To remove the debris, workers used natural gas at a high pressure of approximately 650 pounds per square inch. The high velocity of the natural gas flow was intended to remove any debris in the new piping....

Selecting the Right Temperature Sensor
Plant and maintenance engineers use infrared temperature measurement devices, both handheld and fixed/online versions, as non-contact, relatively low cost, preventive maintenance tools. These devices accurately monitor, control and manage process temperatures and help to locate ‘hot spots’ on critical process plant, machinery and electrical connections – without having to interrupt production.

LEDs replace lighting at Copenhagen’s Airport
Using a simple analysis persuaded the BTS (Building Technical Service) at Denmark’s airports to switch to Werma 280 series LED obstruction beacons in order to save cost, reduce carbon imprint and reduce down time.

Data recording without ranges or limits
Brüel & Kjær's stand-alone recorder, based on the PULSE LAN-XI analyser hardware, makes high-quality data recording supremely easy, even in situations where no PC could survive.

Why common sense must prevail
If common sense was truly universal, we’d all have it. But from recent findings in the US, this is clearly this is not the case. Would an industrial operator deliberately purge a process line with a flammable gas into an enclosed area containing hot spots and electrical ignition sources? Common sense would suggest not but this operation is surprisingly a standard practice in certain sectors. Last month's accident at Kleen Energy has proved to be a fatal example of this high risk practice.