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[Music]
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Narrator: In 1979, 20 year old
John Capanna was a contract worker
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performing maintenance at a New Jersey refinery.
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Capanna: We actually had pulled out of the refinery
and were called back in to do one last job,
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which was demolish an old pumping station.
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And we were told that it was a water pumping station.
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It was not a water line; it was a crude oil line, in fact.
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We tried to dismantle the pump,
starting with removing the bolts from the flanges.
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And they were so corroded,
that we couldn't get them loose by conventional means,
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so we elected to use an acetylene torch at that point.
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As soon as the flange separated, it exploded.
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I was burned over 90 percent of my body.
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Narrator: Thirty years and over 75 surgeries later,
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Mr. Capanna now assists other burn survivors as they
recover from their wounds, often suffered on the job.
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Capanna: Don't think that something this tragic
couldn't happen to you or somebody you love.
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This could happen to anybody.
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Narrator: John Capanna's life was changed forever
by a hot work accident; welding, cutting, grinding,
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seemingly a routine operation until suddenly
flammable vapors are ignited by sparks or heat.
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[Music]
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Holmstrom: We typically hear about
hot work accidents weekly.
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It's become one of the most
significant types of incidents that CSB
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investigates in terms of deaths,
in terms of frequency.
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Narrator: The Chemical Safety Board
found that since 1990, welding, cutting
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and other hot work
on or near flammable storage tanks
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caused fires and explosions
that led to over 60 deaths.
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In February 2010, the CSB issued a Safety Bulletin,
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outlining seven key lessons to prevent hot work accidents.
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The Bulletin followed a tragic explosion that killed
three paper mill workers in Wisconsin in July, 2008,
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together with ten other serious hot work accidents
investigated or reviewed by the CSB.
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Holmstrom: The main message of the CSB Safety Bulletin
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is to conduct an effective hazard evaluation and
perform gas monitoring before conducting hot work.
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Bresland: Proper use of combustible gas detectors
would prevent many of these accidents and save lives.
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Narrator: June 5, 2006, a rural oil
production site in central Mississippi,
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operated by a company called Partridge-Raleigh.
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All the workers are contractors
employed by Stringer's Oilfield Services,
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hired to install tanks and piping at the site.
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They planned to connect a pipe
between two of the site's four tanks.
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They empty a large storage tank and
then check it for flammable hydrocarbons
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by a dangerous and unreliable technique;
inserting a lit welding torch into the tank.
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Seeing no flash, the workers
believe it is safe to weld on the tank.
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However, crude oil has remained inside one of the
other production tanks, warming under the morning sun.
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Vapor from this oil flows into an adjacent tank
and escapes through an uncapped pipe,
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just four feet from where workers plan to weld.
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Sparks showered down from the welding process,
igniting the flammable vapor.
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Flames flash back into the storage tank,
causing an explosion,
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which blows off the tank lid and the ladder
where three of the workers were standing.
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[Sound of explosion]
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Narrator: Flames shoot through a pipe into the next tank,
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causing an even more violent explosion.
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[Sound of explosion]
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Narrator: Three workers were killed
and the fourth was severely injured.
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CSB investigators noted that combustible gas detectors
were not used at any time prior to or during hot work.
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Partridge-Raleigh had not established
safety requirements for its contractors
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and the contractor provided no hot
work safety training for its employees.
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Hot work accidents affect workers not only in the oil
and gas industry, but also across other sectors, such as
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food production, paper and wastewater treatment.
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Jones: He was feeding you there.
He was giving you a bottle.
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And then you were looking at him; what are you doing?
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Clyde and I were married about
almost two years, together about seven.
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We share a child.
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Her name is Aleya Jones and she is now going to
be eight and she was three when he passed away.
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He was an all-around maintenance man at the Bethune
Water Treatment Plant in the City of Daytona Beach.
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I just assumed that he had a normal, everyday, you know,
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7:00 to 3:30, Monday through Friday job; safe as my job.
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And I would have never dreamed in a million years
he would have been killed in an explosion.
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Narrator: January 11, 2006.
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Clyde Jones is operating a crane
at the Wastewater Treatment Plant
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while two other workers in a man-lift basket
are removing a steel roof
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that covers two chemical storage tanks;
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one empty, the other containing about
3,000 gallons of highly flammable methanol.
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But no combustible gas testing is required or performed.
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The workers use an oxyacetylene torch
to cut the roof into sections.
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Beneath them, methanol vapor vents from the top of
the tank as the morning sun warms the liquid inside.
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Sparks from the torch shower down onto
the tank, igniting the methanol vapor.
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[Sound of explosion]
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Narrator: The fire flashes into
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a corroded and ineffectively flame arrester
and continues into the tank.
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[Sound of explosion]
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Narrator: Flames spread instantly,
igniting the methanol inside.
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Burning methanol spews out from broken pipes,
engulfing the two workers in the man-lift basket;
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one survives, one does not.
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Flames envelop the cab of the crane,
where Clyde Jones is sitting.
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Jones: When Clyde got to Halifax Medical Center,
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him and I were able to talk for about
ten minutes before they intubated him.
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He told me that, that he loved me
and to take care of the girls
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and he knew he, he knew he was bad;
he just didn't know how bad.
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And he asked me if I would promise to stay
with him until the end and I told him I would.
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Narrator: The day after the explosion
at the Wastewater Treatment Plant,
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Clyde Jones, 40 year old husband and father, died.
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The accidents at Bethune and Partridge-Raleigh
demonstrate the need to
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monitor the atmosphere for
dangerous levels of flammable vapor,
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but monitoring must be done properly.
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Holmstrom: Ineffective monitoring techniques
can be just as dangerous as no monitoring at all.
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Narrator: July 17, 2001, the Motiva
Enterprises Refinery, Delaware City, Delaware.
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Several contractors are repairing a
catwalk in a sulfuric acid tank farm.
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Their task involves cutting near storage Tank 393, which
contains waste sulfuric acid and flammable hydrocarbons.
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But the tank is severely corroded
and has holes in its roof and shell.
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At about 7:45 a.m., Motiva operators use a combustible
gas detector to test the atmosphere around Tank 393.
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No flammable vapor is detected.
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They never test the atmosphere after that.
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But as the day goes on,
the temperature rises by 14 degrees,
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warming the contents of the tank and
producing vapor that escapes through the holes.
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But workers are unaware of the growing danger.
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Around 1:30 p.m., a spark from an electric arc cutting
system ignites the vapor, causing a powerful explosion.
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Narrator: The tank collapses, releasing
264,000 gallons of highly corrosive sulfuric acid.
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The sulfuric acid overwhelms the
containment dyke and wastewater systems.
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Almost 100,000 gallons reach the Delaware River,
killing fish and other aquatic life.
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A contract employee who had been
working on the catwalk died in the accident;
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his body never found.
Eight others were injured.
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Bresland: Combustible gas detectors
should be routinely used to identify
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and monitor for flammable atmospheres
before and during hot work.
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Narrator: More recent accidents
illustrate the same key lesson.
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Gas monitoring was performed at ConAgra Foods
in Boardman, Oregon on February 16, 2009,
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but not in the immediate area where welding was planned.
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Sparks ignited flammable gas from
decaying matter beneath a water clarifier tank,
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causing an explosion that killed one worker.
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And three contract workers were
killed at a TEPPCO Fuel Terminal
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while they used a torch to cut into
the roof of a gasoline storage tank.
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Gas testing occurred at 7:00 a.m.,
the start of the work shift,
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but was not repeated when workers returned
from lunch or when they started the hot work.
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Holmstrom: Continuous monitoring for flammable vapor
could have prevented these tragic accidents,
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which caused deaths, injuries
and environmental damage.
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Other good safety practices are also important.
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Narrator: Whenever possible, avoid hot work or consider
alternative methods, such as cold or hydraulic cutting.
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Before any hot work, perform a
comprehensive hazard assessment.
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Personnel may sometimes be unaware of processes
that can release flammable vapors.
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In 2008, three workers were killed and
one was injured in Tomahawk, Wisconsin
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at the Packaging Corporation of America, which
manufactures corrugated packaging and container board.
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Welding sparks ignited flammable hydrogen gas
from an 80-foot tall storage tank.
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Unknown to plant employees,
microbes were producing the gas
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from the decomposition of waste fiber inside the tank.
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Test the area where hot work is planned and
eliminate potential sources of flammables,
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even in equipment that is not directly involved.
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For instance, at Partridge-Raleigh,
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emptying and purging the nearby crude oil tank
would have eliminated the source of flammables.
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Use written permits specifically identifying the
work to be conducted and the required precautions.
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At the Bethune Wastewater Plant,
there was no permit system.
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Provide safety supervision for
outside contractors conducting hot work.
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Two contract workers were killed
in La Rue, Ohio on October 19, 2008,
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when an explosion occurred while they were
welding above crude oil storage tanks owned by Marr Oil.
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The company had no formal program
to select or oversee contractors.
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And finally, train personnel on the hazards of hot work.
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Jones: When there's any hot work involved,
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there needs to be additional training and
safeguards put in place to make sure that
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the men or women that are doing the job
are competent and well-trained to do the job.
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Capanna: Use all your resources, you know, get as much
training and as much information about the job at hand.
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You know, and go into it with your eyes wide open.
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Bresland: Although the hazards of hot work are well-known,
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frequent deaths and serious injuries continue to occur.
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The CBS believes that following the key lessons outlined
here can help prevent future hot work related accidents.
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[Music]
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