INDUSTRIAL FIRE SAFETY

Er. DIVYA SHARMA

CR-MCREM 1st yr
 FIRE
 Fire is an exothermic reaction, meaning it gives off heat
and light. Its also a combustion process that produces
smoke.
 Fire requires four things to live.

 Heat

 Fuel

 Oxidation

 Chemical reaction.
 INDUSTRIAL FIRE SAFETY

 Industrial fire safety is primarily a management activity

which is concerned with
 Reducing

 Controlling &

 Eliminating

fire accidents from the industries or industrial units.

CAUSES OF INDUSTRIAL FIRE ACCIDENTS

 Wherever heat sources and flammable materials share a

space, there is the potential for fire. Many industrial sites
house extremely volatile material that can explode or
burst into flames when not managed and stored properly.
 While work environments in every industry pose unique
fire hazards, there are some general problems that create
a risk of fire or explosion in all industrial complexes or
manufacturing facilities.
 Electrical Fire Hazards

 Flammable Liquids

 Hot work

 Combustible dust

 Faulty Equipment & Machinery

GENERAL CAUSES FOR ELECTRICAL FIRE
HAZARDS IN INDUSTRIES

Electrical Fire Hazards

Worn-out or defective wiring and dusty equipment

account for many fires every year, as do overloaded
circuits.
•Worn extension cords
•Exposed wiring
•Broken power tools
•Overloaded circuits
•Greasy or dusty electric motors or machines
PREVENTION FOR ELECTRICAL FIRE
HAZARDS IN INDUSTRIES
Electrical Fire Hazards
 Don’t overload electrical equipment or circuits.

 Don’t leave temporary equipment plugged in when it’s

not in use.
 Follow a regular housekeeping plan to remove
combustible dust and other hazardous materials from
areas that contain equipment and machinery.
 Implement a reporting system so that anyone who
observes an electrical fire risk can report it without
consequences.
GENERAL CAUSES FOR FLAMMABLE FIRE
HAZARDS IN INDUSTRIES
Flammable Liquids
 Certain substances commonly used in industrial settings
can ignite with the slightest spark, or even by static
electricity.
 In a flammable liquid fire, it is the vapours released from
the surface of the liquid that burns.
 Flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid
produces enough vapor to form an ignitable mixture.
E.g., Diethyl ether (-45 C) , Methyl alcohol (11.1 C)
 Lower the flash point of a flammable liquid, greater the
hazard.
PREVENTION FOR FLAMMABLE FIRE
HAZARDS IN INDUSTRIES
 Know the hazards. One major component of prevention
is simply knowing the safety information for every liquid
on your premises.
 Store flammable liquids properly. Make sure all
hazardous materials are stored according to standard
procedures.
 Control all ignition sources. Except for when you’re
intentionally heating the flammable materials, keep
ignition sources as far away from them as possible.
 Provide personal protective equipment. This is a must
across all categories of fire hazards but especially when
liquids and gasses are involved.
 GENERAL CAUSES FOR FLAMMABLE FIRE
HAZARDS IN INDUSTRIES
Hot work Fire Hazard
 It is one of the leading causes of industrial fires across all
industries.
 Although hot work is commonly equated with welding and
torch cutting, there are many other activities — including
brazing, burning, heating, and soldering — that pose a fire
hazard. This is because the sparks and molten material, which
reach temperatures greater than 1000°F, can easily travel
more than 35 feet.
PREVENTION FOR HOT WORK FIRE HAZARDS
IN INDUSTRIES
 Avoid hot work if possible. This isn’t always a feasible
solution, but if there’s an alternative, take it.
 Train personnel on the hazards associated with hot work, any
site-specific hazards, the proper policies and procedures, and
the use of safety equipment.
 Ensure that the area is clear of flammable or combustible
materials including dusts, liquids, and gasses.
 Use a written permit system for all hot work projects, even
where permits aren’t required. Better safe than sorry!
 Supervise the work. Especially if you use outside
contractors, make sure a safety professional is on hand to
provide supervision.
 Combustible dust

 OSHA defines combustible dust as: “A solid material composed of

distinct particles or pieces, regardless of size, shape, or chemical
composition, which presents a fire or deflagration hazard when
suspended in air or some other oxidizing material over a range of
concentrations.”
 Combustible dust is a major cause of fire in food manufacturing,
woodworking, chemical manufacturing, metalworking,
pharmaceuticals, and just about every other industry you can name.
 The reason is that just about everything, including food, dyes,
chemicals, and metals — even materials that aren’t fire risks in larger
pieces — has the potential to be combustible in dust form.
PREVENTION FOR ELECTRICAL FIRE HAZARDS IN
INDUSTRIES
 Engineering Controls
 Use appropriate and properly installed systems to extract and collect
combustible dust
 Ensure explosion venting is directed away from employee areas
 Properly maintain all electrical and mechanical equipment
 Bond and ground equipment to control static electricity
 Remove ignition sources, including open flames, sparks, friction and heat
sources
 Administrative Controls
 Develop and implement a combustible dust-control program
 Conduct dust inspections at regular intervals
 Establish a housekeeping program that includes regular dust removal
 Develop an ignition-control program to reduce or eliminate ignition sources
 Train workers to use the right equipment and proper technique when cleaning
combustible dust
 Educate employees about the hazards of combustible dust and how they can do
their part to control or eliminate the risk of fire or explosion
 GENERAL CAUSES FOR EQUIPMENT &
MACHINERY FIRE HAZARDS IN INDUSTRIES

Faulty Equipment & Machinery Fire Hazard

 Faulty equipment and machinery are also major causes of

industrial fires.
 Furnaces that aren’t properly installed, operated, and
maintained.
 Any mechanical equipment can become a fire hazard because
of friction between the moving parts.
HOW TO PREVENT EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY
INCIDENTS

 Strategies for preventing fires due to equipment and

machinery issues fall into three main categories:
 Awareness:- Provide safety awareness training so
everyone in your facility knows what risks to watch out
for and what to do if they find one.
 Cleaning and housekeeping:- By keeping your
equipment and machinery clean, you’ll up your chances
that, should a fire start, it won’t have enough fuel
available to burn for long.
 Maintenance:- to reducing your fire risk by preventing
overheating, regular maintenance will also keep your
equipment working in tip-top shape.
CASE STUDY
 BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY
 TIME OF OCCURENCE
• Occurrence: 3rd December 1984.
• Place of occurrence: Bhopal, Madhya
Pradesh, India.
• Company: Union Carbide Corporation.
• Chemical: Methyl Isocyanate (40 tons)
• People Affected- >500,000
• People Died- ~40,000
 About 550,000 people were exposed to the gas. A government affidavit in
2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 INJURIES including 38,478
TEMPORARY PARTIAL INJURIES and approximately 3,900 SEVERELY AND
PERMANENTLY DISABLING INJURIES
BHOPAL SCENARIO
Union
Carbide
Corporation
Plant
ABOUT UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION(UCC)

• Started in 1969 in bhopal

• Phosgene, Monomethlyamine, Methyl Isocyanate
(MIC) and the pesticide carbaryl, also known as Sevin.
• Taken over by DOW Chemicals in 2001.
• DOW refused Union Carbide’s Liabilities in Bhopal,
India.
Gas Vent Scrubber Gas Vent Scrubber Stack
 MIC STORAGE TANK
Picture shows the tank as it is today.
 TANK SAFETY FEATURES
•A Nitrogen line was connected to the tank to transfer the product
by inert pressurization of the headspace.

•The tank was fitted with a pressure relief valve and rupture disc.
The vent line from the valve exhausted into a scrubbing tower filled
with caustic soda (NaOH). This would neutralize the MIC to form
Sodium isocyanate. Any residual gas from the scrubber was sent to a
30 m tall flare stack where it would be burned off.

•There was an external coiled jacket on the vessel through which coolant
(freon / chloroform) was re-circulated. This was to keep the
vessel contents at 0 C and thus prevent any adverse exothermic
reactions occurring.

•Tanks were not to be filled above the 50 % mark so that in the event of
dangerous chemical reactions occurring, solvents could be pumped in
to quench the reactions.
ACCIDENT DESCRIPTION
Pipe Cleaning Procedure
As part of routine procedures, the pipes leading from the MIC
distillation column to the storage tanks were regularly flushed with
pressurized water. MIC and any associated products can be quite
corrosive and could form corrosion deposits in the pipe. These
deposits would contaminate the MIC in the tanks and could initiate
unwanted reactions. During cleaning, valves in the product lines were
to be closed and a blank or slip-blind placed in the product line leading to
the storage tank to prevent contamination.

However the valves, although closed, were not sealing properly

because of corrosion and the maintenance crew forgot about the
blank. It appears that about 1000 kg of water plus metal debris entered
tank 610.

Assuming all the previously described safety features were operative,

this should not have been a catastrophic occurrence.
 EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH.
• Respiratory Disorders – Irritation to the lungs, causing coughing
and/or shortness of breathing. Higher exposure caused build up
of fluids (pulmonary enema). Caused Asthma.

• Cancer Hazard – Caused mutation (genetic changes). It caused

cancer.

• Reproductive Hazard – Association between exposure to Methyl

isocyanate and miscarriages. It may damage the growing fetus.
May also affect fertility in men and women.

• After Effect- Traces of many toxins were found in the Brest

Milk of mothers and were in turn transmitted to the recipient
babies.
ANIMAL SLAUGHTER

2,000 buffalo, goats, and other animals died.

 TOXIC MATERIALS IN SOIL AND WATER
• Lead, Nickel, Copper, Chromium,
hexachlorocyclohexane and chlorobenzenes were
found in soil samples.

• Mercury was found to be between 20,000 to

6,000,000 times the standard level in soil.
Chemicals Dumped by Union Carbide in Bhopal
S.No Chemical Amount Use in factory Nature of original pollution

1 Methylene Chloride 100 MT Solvent Air

2 Methanol 50 MT Solvent Air
3 Ortho-idichlorobenzene 500 MT Solvent Air, Water, Soil
4 Carbon tetrachloride 500 MT Solvent Air
5 Chloroform 300 MT Solvent Air
6 Tri methylamine 50 MT Catalyst Air
7 Chloro benzyl chloride 10 MT Ingredient Air, Water, Soil
8 Mono chloro toluene 10 MT Ingredient Air, Water, Soil
9 Toluene 20 MT Ingredient Air, Water, Soil
10 Aldicarb 2 MT Product Air, Water, Soil
11 Carbaryl 50 MT Product Air, Water, Soil
12 Benzene Hexachloride 5 MT Ingredient Air, Water, Soil
13 Mercury 1 MT Water, Soil
14 Mono methyl amine 25 MT Ingredient Air
15 Chlorine 20 MT Ingredient Air
16 Phosgene 5 MT Ingredient Air
17 Hydro chloric acid 50 MT Ingredient Air, Soil
18 Chloro sulphonic acid 50 MT Ingredient Air, Soil
19 Alpha Naphthol * 50 MT Ingredient Air, Soil
20 Napthalin 50 MT Ingredient Air
21 Chemical waste Tar 50 MT Waste Water, Soil
22 Methyl Isocyanate 5 MT Ingredient Air, Water, Soil
HAPHAZARD DUMPING OF HAZARDOUS
MATERIAL
Toxic materials found in Soil and Water
after the accident
Benzene, oxides 7, 890

Dichlorobenzenes 87,500

Polynuclear Aromatic 2,340

Hydrocarbons
Phthalates 9,940

Trichlorobenzenes 9,410

Trimethyl Trianzintrione 24,470

1-Napthalenol 59,090

Units in parts per billion (ppb)

Additionally, Dichlorobenzene and Trichlorobenzenes were found
in the soil and water samples.
 COMPENSATION AND LEGAL ASPECTS
• Compensation of $470 million ($500 per dead).
• Twenty years of passiveness.
• Case was reviewed and put up in American Court.
• DOW Refused Union Carbide’s Liabilities in
Bhopal,
 India.
• In order to provide safe drinking water to the
population around the UCIL factory, Government
of Madhya Pradesh presented a scheme for
improvement of water supply.
• Supreme court directed the UCC and M.P. govt.
to take immediate steps for disposal of toxic
waste lying around and inside the factory.
20,000 KILLED
550,000 SEVERELY AFFECTED

…And you thought only weapons

could cause Mass Destruction.
REFERENCES