Yesterday we reviewed steps to conduct a fire-risk assessment concerning vehicle and motorized equipment ignition hazards at oil and gas (O&G) wellsites. Today we will look at how to use that information to protect your wellsite workers from vapor ignition fires and explosions.
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the National Service, Transmission, Exploration, and Production Safety (STEPS) Network recently jointly issued a hazard alert to help prevent such fatalities in the O&G industry.
After you have assessed the fire and explosion risks from the ignition of vapors at your wellsite, there are some concrete steps you can take to prevent these fires and explosions and any subsequent injuries and deaths.
Tip 1: Establish acceptable areas.
Establish acceptable areas, boundaries, and entry routes for vehicles and motorized equipment, including any contractors’ equipment. You may need to change these areas depending on variable weather conditions, such as heavy winds.
Tip 2: Make it happen.
Ensure that all vehicles and motorized equipment stay within the established areas, boundaries, and entry routes.
Tip 3: Monitor.
Establish monitoring devices and procedures for flammable gases and vapors (e.g., lower explosive limits (LEL) meters).
Tip 4: Install shutdown systems.
Consider installing shutdown systems, intake flame arrestors, exhaust system spark arrest, or other protective systems for mobile engines.
Tip 5: Don’t idle.
Establish and enforce the practice of shutting down running or idling nonessential equipment and vehicles.
Tip 6: Control access.
Use administrative controls, such as a safe work permit system, to control vehicle and motorized equipment access in areas that could contain flammable vapors and gases.
Tip 7: Train.
Probably the most important thing you can do to keep your wellsite workers safe from vapor ignitions is to train them about the hazards and establish safe work practices and procedures. Critical training and safe work practices to avoid injuries and deaths from the ignition of vapors from vehicles and other motors include:
- Training on the hazards of internal combustion engines as ignition sources;
- Knowledge that when an engine “over revs” or starts “running away,” it’s in a gas/vapor cloud;
- Training to evacuate the area immediately if an engine “over revs” or “runs away”; and
- Communicating emergency procedures to all workers about what to do if an engine “over revs” and workers’ specific duties during shutdown operations.
Tip 8: Review daily.
Make it a practice to review job hazard analyses (JHAs), fire prevention plans, and emergency evacuation procedures at daily shift meetings.
Tip 9: Ensure and enforce.
You can have all your policies and procedures in place, but if your workers are not abiding by them, it won’t matter. You need to ensure that your workers:
- Follow the safe work practices and procedures;
- Participate in and review the appropriate JHA before beginning work;
- Attend hazard communication training;
- Know the contents and hazards of the equipment they work on;
- Keep other potential ignition sources, (e.g., cell phones, open flames, cigarettes, and sparks from tools from metal objects) away from hazard zones;
- Use required personal protective equipment and gas detection devices; and
- Heed all alarms!
Your workers should be encouraged to stop the job and ask if they are uncertain about potential risks or have any questions.