Gas Testing of Pressure Equipment
- Details
- Category: Use & In-Service Inspection
1 SCOPE.
primarily ISI but also repair and maintenance
2 BACKGROUND
Probably over the decade to 2012 in Australia there have been an average of 1 unnecessary death/year triggered by poor gas testing and it's interpretation. In one death, the gas tester advised the test was OK but the PE was only checked for flammable gas and not for oxygen that had been replaced by nitrogen for inerting during storage
In Sydney in 1986, 5 persons were killed with an explosion and fire during welding maintenance operations on a heat exchanger where the area around an adjacent tank had been declared gas free(Ref 1).
Unfortunately there have been many more such accidents. Also earlier at another AU refinery there had been serious industrial problems due to concerns on the accuracy, competence, independence and confidence in gas testing for internal welding maintenance.
3 AIM
This note aims to help parties avoid such deaths and problems and so improve overall performance of PE Industry. The net benefit can be equivalent to about $10 million/year in AU. (Ref 3).