Upstream Operations: Fatalities Related to Confined Vapors and Gases. Susan Monroe, M.S., CIH US DOL/OSHA

Transcription

1 Upstream Operations: Fatalities Related to Confined Vapors and Gases Susan Monroe, M.S., CIH US DOL/OSHA

2 Upstream, Midstream, Downstream Upstream: exploration, testing, rigging up, digging, drilling, extraction, rigging down Midstream: transportation to downstream factilities (basically) Downstream: petroleum product distribution, retail outlets and natural gas distribution companies. The downstream industry touches consumers through thousands of products such as gasoline or petrol, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, asphalt, lubricants, synthetic rubber, plastics, fertilizers, antifreeze, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, natural gas, and propane

3 Confined Space Is large enough for an employee to enter fully and perform assigned work; Is not designed for continuous occupancy by the employee; and Has a limited or restricted means of entry or exit. These spaces may include underground vaults, tanks, storage bins, pits and diked areas, vessels, silos and other similar areas.

4 Permit Required Confined Space A confined space which has one or more of these characteristics: Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere; Contains a material with the potential to engulf someone who enters the space; Has an internal configuration that might cause an entrant to be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor that slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross section; and/or Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazards.

5 Upstream Fatalities in the Past Four Years # Upstream Fatalities # Upstream Fatalities

6 Upstream Fatalities: Fatality Event # Fatalities Other Inhalation of toxic or Asphyxia Struck-By (unrelated to an Fall (unrelated to an Electrocution # Fatalities "Heart Attack"/Heat/No Blowout/Explosion/Overpres

7 Why focus on confined gases /vapors when most fatalities are struck-by or falls? Fall hazards are usually obvious Struck-by and Fall fatalities are often indirectly caused by release of built-up gas or vapor pressure, e.g., a blowout causes the rig to collapse Built up gas and vapors are an underlying cause in many oil and gas fatalities This type of gas and vapor fatality represents a less recognized hazard scenario. It does not fit a confined space definition due to lack of entry and it is not covered by the PSM standard, which addresses overpressurization The physical hazard of a gas/vapor under pressure often underlies these fatalities

8 Ages of Heart Attack /Heat/ No Witness Victims # "Heart Attack"/Heat/No Witness Victims Above 50 age age # "Heart Attack"/Heat/Unknown Victims Age

9 Where Heart Attack /Heat/ No Witness Victims were Found beneath the stairs leading to the rig floor lower deck in front of drill rig beside manhole where the filling pipes are located under the substructure of the drilling floor near the oil well under the tire of the defoaming machine at drilling rig #3 by storage tank #1

10 Was it a Heart Attack? Burden on OSHA: How can you prove it was not? Many times no witness, just a body Gas is gone from the air, cannot sample By-products of the fatal gases also occur naturally in the human body Difficulty of getting fresh post-mortem samples: custody of corpse, OSHA not a forensic agency, autopsies conducted by local, non-federal agencies, subject to local budgets and politics Even in cases of H2S overexposure, it may be ruled natural causes because the heart failed

11 Case study: typical fall fatality where gas may have been released January 2011 Oklahoma: employee #1 (28 years old) was observed running to the stairway on the rig employee #2 lost sight of him as he approached the stairway. Employee #1 was found later that day, lying beneath the stairway leading up to the rig no one witnessed the accident the victim may have slipped going up the stairway

12 Case Study: Typical Struck-By Fatality Caused by Sudden Gas Release January 2011 Colorado: The motorman of an oil drilling rig was struck by an unexpected release of pressurized drilling mud when a threaded nipple connection on the pipe stand came loose. The motorman was then burned when the mud struck a nearby halogen light fixture on the rig which ignited

13 Case Study: Typical Struck-by Fatality Caused by Over Pressurization of Gas November 2010 Oklahoma: Six workers arrived at Gas well #3 to clean it. The crew was performing normal procedures for servicing a gas well. They connected a blowout preventer valve first. Later during the cleaning, a tubing became stuck in the well. They attempted to work it free, but the tubing broke and was ejected from the well. They ran from the well. The blown tubing struck Employee #1 in the back of his head, killing him instantly.

14 Other OSHA Standards that Relate to Confined Vapors and Gases (besides the confined space standard)

15 Why is Hardly Ever Cited in these Situations? Confined spaces change rapidly After gas is released and blowout occurs, or explosion, dispersion occurs Non-Newtonian fluid issue ---the stirring/ sheering of the fluid stops due to the traumatic event, so gas stops being released

16 Take Home Message to Avoid These Hazards: Consider Vapor and Gas buildup Look for electrical sources near gases and vapors Whatever is containing the gas may leak or burst Most gases have poor warning properties Gas concentrations can change quickly, even in open air Gas is used everyday, everywhere, and this lessens employee hazard perception Upstream operations employees tend to underestimate hazards Most oil and gas workers have 12 hour shifts; fatigue adds to lack of understanding unseen hazards