POWER July 2010 - 14

technology licenses, the agreements include design and technical
services and the supply of performance parts. More than 40
licensed facilities in China already use GE's gasification technology.
With licensing, teams based in China can now provide incountry
support for the new projects.
The new agreements represent more than 17.5 normal cubic
meters daily of syngas output. The companies licensing the
technology are Inner Mongolia Zhuozheng Coal Chemical
Industry Co. Ltd. (coal to methanol production at a plant
in Ordos, Inner Mongolia); Shihlien Chemical Industrial Jiangsu
Co. (coal to ammonia production at a plant in Huai'an,
Jiangsu Province); Xuzhou Coal Mining Group Corp. (coal to
methanol production in Baoji, Shaanxi); PetroChina Daqing
Petrochemical Co. (oil to oxo production, Daqing, HeilongjiLetter
to the Editor
Re: " Natural Gas Piping: It's Time for
Better Risk Control, " by John Puskar, PE
(May 2010)
Mr. Puskar's recommendations to address
the hazards associated with purging and
blowing natural gas from large industrial
piping systems are a significant contribution
to the dialogue that is taking place
on this important subject. Mr. Puskar correctly
identifies two codes that can inform
the designer, constructor, and operator of
fuel gas piping systems in preparation for a
safe purge of natural gas into and from the
piping: 29 CFR 1910.147, concerning the
lockout/tagout control of hazardous energy,
and the National Fuel Gas Code (NFPA
54). POWER magazine readers should also
know of the limitations of NFPA 54 and of
the other statutes and codes that may apply
to this activity.
First, while NFPA 54 does govern the design,
construction, inspection, and purging
requirements for many commercial fuel
gas systems, that code does not apply to
fuel gas piping in electric utility power
plants. A 2009 revision to Section 1.1.1.2
of NFPA 54 explicitly excludes those piping
systems from the reach of that code.
Instead, ASME B31.1, Power Piping Code,
applies to the design, construction, and
inspection of power plant fuel gas piping
systems. The applicability of ASME B31.1
to these piping systems is made explicit
in paragraph 100.1.2 of that code. Also,
the NFPA 54 defines a purge as follows: " To
free a gas conduit of air or gas, or a mixture
of air or gas. " The cause of the 2009
explosion at the ConAgra plant in North
Carolina, as reported by the U.S. Chemical
Safety Board (CSB), was the result of one
14
or more unsafe gas purges. In contrast,
the CSB reports that the 2010 explosion at
the Kleen Energy plant in Connecticut was
the result of a " gas blow. " The CSB reports
that a " gas blow " is an operation in which
natural gas is used to clean debris from
new fuel gas piping. A " gas blow " is not
a " purge " as that term is used in NFPA 54.
Southwest Gas does not perform gas blows,
and is unaware of any other natural gas
utility that cleans debris from its pipelines
by gas blowing.
Next, for employers that are bound by
the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Act, 29 USC 654(a)(1), which applies to
gas purging and blowing operations, this
federal statute is the " general duty " clause,
and it provides that: " Each employer shall
furnish to each of his employees employment
and a place of employment which are
free from recognized hazards that are causing
or are likely to cause death or serious
physical harm to his employees. " The 2009
Field Operations Manual, published by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) of the U.S. Department of
Labor, describes the operation of the general
duty clause as follows:
" In general, [U.S. Occupational Safety
and Health] Review Commission and court
precedent have established that the following
elements are necessary to prove a
violation of the general duty clause:
■ The employer failed to keep the workplace
free of a hazard to which employees
of that employer were exposed;
■ The hazard was recognized;
■ The hazard was causing or was likely to
cause death or serious physical harm; and
www.powermag.com
■ There was a feasible and useful method
to correct the hazard. "
Finally, the OSHA Hazard Communication
Standard (HCS) can apply to gas purging
and blowing operations. Identical versions
of this code are found at 29 CFR 1910.1200
and at 29 CFR 1926.1200. Natural gas is a
" hazardous chemical " as that term is used
in the HCS, and as such, employers that
move or displace natural gas during any
purging or gas blowing operations are required
by the HCS to obtain the material
safety data sheets (MSDSs) for the natural
gas that they are using, to develop a written
hazard communication plan, to make
this MSDS available to their employees,
and to provide training to employees in
relation to the MSDS.
Following the tragic accidents identified
in Mr. Puskar's article, Southwest Gas Corporation
drafted and published an MSDS that
identifies a number of hazards associated
with odorized natural gas that can cause
serious injuries, including purge-related
hazards (www.swgas.com/emergencysafety).
This MSDS also includes a number of
precautions, engineering controls, and safe
work practices that address purge-related
natural gas hazards. Southwest Gas has
alerted all of its commercial customers of
the availability of this MSDS. Readers of
POWER magazine are encouraged to review
this MSDS and to compare their practices
to those in the MSDS. In addition, several
natural gas utilities have published similar
safety information bulletins that can be
found on their websites.
-Craig Roecks, Assistant General Counsel/
Legal Affairs, Southwest Gas Corp.
POWER | July 2010
ang Province); and Guodian Younglight Energy Chemical Co.
(coal to methanol production, Yinchuan).
Foster Wheeler Switches on Finland's Largest Biomass
Power Plant. Zurich-based Foster Wheeler started up commercial
operation of a 125-MW (385-MWth), circulating fluidized-bed boiler
island at Kaukaan Voima Oy, in Finland, a biomass plant owned
by Pohjolan Voima Oy and Lappeenrannan Energia Oy. The new
unit fires a combination of biomass and peat and has the capability
to fully fire either fuel, supplying process steam and electricity to
the adjacent UPM-Kymmene Corp. pulp and paper mill, as well as
electricity and district heat to the city of Lappeenranta. Biomass-
bark, branches, tops, stumps, small wood, and peat-will account
for approximately 80% of the plant's fuel supply. The power plant is
reported to be Finland's largest user of solid biomass.
http://www.swgas.com/emergencysafe http://www.powermag.com
POWER July 2010

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