School Charges After Boiler Explosion Death | Stuff.co.nz

Auckland school whose boiler exploded, killing its caretaker, will face charges over the man's death.

via stuff.co.nz

Fatal boiler explosion on 24 June 2009 in New Zealand where a coal-fired boiler exploded killing the school caretaker and injuring a contractor that was working on the boiler. Boiler explosion workplace fatalities and injuries in the workplace is a global problem throughout industry.

Posted via web from ComDust

Florida Boiler Explosion Burns Five Workers

http://www.newsherald.com/news/scene-79958-smith-reports.html
A boiler pipe rupture at the Lansing Smith Generating Plant near Panama City, Florida, where a boiler tube burst and injured five workers when hot steam was released. So what does Gulf Power spokesman Jeff Rogers mean when he stated to reporters, “It was just an out-of-the-blue type of thing...?"

Florida has Boiler Safety Program that the the State Fire Marshal is responsible for administering pursuant to the Florida Administrative Code 69A-51, . The program encompasses safety inspections and licensing of boilers at public assembly locations. What about standard operating procedures for maintenance, inspection, and testing of boilers that are not in public assembly locations?

Resources
The Boiler Safety Act." Florida Administrative Code Chapter 69A-51
Florida Boiler Inspection Information
Lansing Smith Generating Plant

Smelt Water Explosion in Chemical Recovery Boiler

http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/mechanical/articles/59525.aspx

Safety-smelt-water explosions

One of the main hazards in operation of recovery boilers is the smelt-water explosion. This can happen if even a small amount of water is mixed with the solids in high temperature. Smelt-water explosion is purely a physical phenomenon. The smelt water explosion phenomena have been studied by Grace ^[14]. By 1980 there were about 700 recovery boilers in the world ^[8]. The liquid - liquid type explosion mechanism has been established as one of the main causes of recovery boiler explosions. Source-Wikipedia

Special thanks to Dr V T Sathyanathan for sharing the "Smelt Water Explosion in Chemical Recovery Boiler.," article

Resources
Recovery boiler

Steps to Evaluate Boiler Explosion

Please see my posting in Brighthub.
http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/mechanical/articles/58431.aspx

Humongous Pressure Vessel Explosion

http://www.sfexaminer.com/nation/Federal-board-to-investigate-deadly-plant-explosion-78796272.html

Update 12/23/09 Illinois EPA wants action taken against NDK for plant explosion

CSB was recently deployed to the NDK America explosion in Illinois. The six year old facility grows quartz used in frequency-control devices in which NDK is the world's largest manufacturer.

Eight 50 ft high/75 ton autoclaves are on site are used in the production process which generate internal temperatures of up to 700 F and pressure in excess of 20,000 psi. Pressure vessels such as these are inspected every three years by the Illinois State Fire Marshall Office. Last year the office conducted over 45,000 inspection on boilers and pressure vessels throughout the state.

Interesting problems with autoclave vessel seal failure prior between the lid and 75 ton autoclave in a situation that Ingenium Technologies solved for a client. Could this be a clue to the NDK America explosion that CSB is investigating?

Autoclave Vessel:
• vessel weighs 75 ton
• vessel lid weighs 5 ton (10,000 lbs)
• clamps that secure the lid to the vessel weigh 5 ton
• 50’ tall
• 3.5’ diameter

CSB claims the explosion was so strong it threw a 10,000-pound piece of metal 400 feet into another building. Could this of been the 5 ton lid from the top of the autoclave?

Process of making high quality single quartz crystal using silica glass nutrient
Crucial growth parameters, pressure, temperature, and fill:

Fill
"Fill is the most important parameter determining the average autoclave pressure. A ten percent change in fill will increase the pressure more than two fold at 350° C. The fill for quartz has been varied from 65 to 88 percent corresponding to pressures of 150 to 3000 atmospheres. Most present commercial growth processes use up to 1500 atmospheres pressure."

Temperature
"Catastrophic failures have occurred even at commercial establishments. For alpha-quartz the growth, the growth T _g near the seeds, can be varied from 200° to 573° C. At 200° the reaction is very slow but above 573° C. undesirable beta quartz is formed. Typical growth temperatures vary from 340° to 375° C."

Resources:
Google Map Satellite View
Kajima Builds NDK America's First U.S. Plant
Illinois State Fire Marshall Office.
Quartz Crystal Basics:From Raw Materials to Oscillators"

Texas Boiler Explosion had Prior Problems

http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=f1da34181ca604bf

A Galveston Daily New update on the recent Texas boiler that fatally injured a worker was published today. Staff reporter,TJ Aulds reported that a recent court filing produced records that indicated the Babcock and Wilcox designed boiler, which Halgo Power Inc. built and installed had previous problems. So why was it approved to be put back in service is a question asked by many. Currently there are 212 Babcock and Wilcox boilers registered in Texas by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Resources
Search Texas Boiler Inspection Information

Not just Boilers but All Pressure Vessels

http://www.chemsafety.gov/newsroom/detail.aspx?nid=293


The ASME Code provides the fundamental safeguards for pressure vessels, including design, welding procedures and fabrication, testing, and pressure relief,

Chemical Safety Board Chairman Bresland stated that these pressure vessels accidents can be avoided if states implement long-established codes for safe use. He said, “There are only eleven states that do not require companies to follow the Pressure Vessel Code of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Chairman Bresland asks all jurisdictions to adopt the Pressure Vessel Code and related boiler standards. Lives will be saved as a result.

"employee improperly purged gas line from the natural gas-fired water heater" Where is the outrage?

Resources
D.D. Williamson & Co. Catastrophic Vessel Failure
Marcus Oil and Chemical Tank Explosion