POWER May 2010 - 42

PLANT SAFETY
Natural Gas Piping:
It's Time for Better Risk Control
At least 10 workers have died from natural gas piping explosions in the past
12 months. The most recent disaster, which occurred during gas system
purging at the Kleen Energy Systems plant, claimed five lives and injured
27 workers. It's time the industry understood the unique design and safety
requirements for working with and purging natural gas piping.
By John Puskar, PE, CEC Combustion Safety
1. Preventable tragedy. Workers at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, Conn., attempted to clean debris in the plant's fuel
gas line with 650 psi natural gas. The gas purge, vented inside the plant building, found an ignition source and exploded. Six workers were fatally
injured. Courtesy: Chemical Safety Board
G
as piping design, operation, and safety
require a very specialized level of expertise.
Recent events graphically illustrate
the inherent hazards of improperly
designed natural gas piping that is commissioned
in a poorly planned and haphazard
manner. Beyond the obvious risk of death
and injury, explosions on the scale of the
Kleen Energy Systems plant in Connecticut
can cause extreme property damage worth
hundreds of millions of dollars, cause significant
lost production time, and irreversibly
damage a company's reputation (Figure 1).
To avoid a repeat of this and similar disasters,
engineers and designers must be
thoroughly trained in the code and practical
design requirements for natural gas piping.
Contractors should be especially cognizant of
the safety requirements and worker training
required when purging natural gas piping. In
our experience, few engineers and contractors
have the necessary knowledge or experience
to safely purge and start up natural gas pip42
ing
systems. It's time to take a deep breath and
reevaluate our commitment to safely handling
natural gas in utility plants (Figure 2).
What's So Special About Gas Pipes?
We have also found that many designers, engineers,
contractors, and maintenance workers
do not understand that natural gas piping
is quite different from the more familiar fluid
or air piping, and therefore requires special
knowledge and training. There is often a huge
and dangerous lack of knowledge among
those who routinely manage or perform gas
piping repairs.
Six major steps are taken when performing
a gas piping repair. Each of these steps
should be the subject of hours of careful
consideration. In general, these six important
steps are:
1. Planning/layout
2. Isolation
3. Making the repair
www.powermag.com
POWER | May 2010
2. Never completely clean. Weld slag
and contamination are rarely completely removed
from a piping system. A well-designed
pipe purge configured with strainers and sediment
traps can be safely accomplished with
the right planning and training. Courtesy: CEC
Combustion Safety Inc.

http://www.powermag.com

POWER May 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER May 2010

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