Recent Blog Posts
Summary In August 2016, the sudden breaking of a valve on an ammonia pump resulted in a release of 34-284 lbs of ammonia. The root cause was determined to be a stress crack that formed at the threads of a valve, ultimately leading to the top of the valve shearing off. Incident Description The ammonia […]
Summary In June 2016, a hole developed in the nipple of a ½” service valve, resulting in a release of 1,224 lbs of ammonia. The service valve, installed on a liquid transfer vessel, began leaking liquid ammonia into the machinery room. Incident Description Long-term, chronic corrosion caused a 1.5 mm hole to develop in the […]
Summary In December 2016, a roof collapse resulted in a release of approximately 24,000 lbs of ammonia. Two (2) ceiling-suspended evaporators were hung from the roof and fell to the ground when the structure collapsed. Incident Description During a heavy rainstorm, the roof over a cold storage room collapsed. Two (2) ceiling-suspended evaporator coils fell […]
Summary In September 2014, the termination of a relief valve to the atmosphere resulted in a release of approximately 2,700 lbs of ammonia. During the release, a roof-mounted exhaust fan pulled ammonia vapor into a highly populated room in the processing facility which exposed 34 employees to ammonia. Incident Description One of the relief valves […]
Summary In July 2017, the termination of a relief valve to the atmosphere resulted in a release of approximately 1,500 lbs of ammonia, and four personnel injuries. Proper operating procedures were not followed during a seasonal startup of the ammonia system. Several mistakes were made which resulted in the high pressure receiver overpressurizing, and the […]