PubMed · 7120938
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S Sheffrin. 1982. Electric burn.. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed%2F32.1.148
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A methodology for estimating the risk owing to the phenomenon of boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE) in the presence of uncertainties both in the model and in the parameters of the models is presented. BLEVE takes place when a tank containing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is exposed to fire and fails catastrophically. Two models have been used in the estimation of the intensity of thermal radiation from the resulting fireball, namely the solid-flame model assuming an emission power independent of the combustion mass and the point-source model that estimates the emissive power as a function of the combustion mass. Three measures of the BLEVE consequences, the intensity of thermal radiation, the dose of thermal radiation and the probability of loss of life as a result of the exposure to the thermal radiation and as a function of the distance from the center of the tank have been considered. Uncertainties in the exact values of the parameters of the models have been quantified and the resulting uncertainties in the three consequence measures have been assessed. A sensitivity analysis on the relative contribution of the uncertainty in each of the input variables to the uncertainties of the consequence measures has been performed. One conclusion is that the uncertainties in the probability of loss of life are mainly due to the uncertainties in the model of the physical phenomenon rather than to the uncertainties of the dose-response model.
An accident in a plant for solvent recovery from solvent-contaminated wastes was examined. An experimental investigation of the accident was carried out using calorimetric and thermogravimetric techniques. The immediate cause of the accident was an unforeseen exothermic decomposition reaction. The main underlying cause of the accident was the absence of safety culture in the plant management, that resulted in the lack of a testing procedure to evaluate the thermal stability of the process feed. A simplified screening procedure based on differential scanning calorimetry was used in order to test the thermal stability of the nonvolatile fraction of the solvent-contaminated wastes present on the plant in order to be processed. More than 75% of the samples examined showed exothermal decomposition phenomena starting at temperatures higher than 100 degrees C. These phenomena were common to solvent wastes that originated from a number of different industrial activities. Thus, the thermal instability of the process feed is one of the main problems in solvent recovery operations. Our analysis of the accident suggested that the safe operation of waste solvent recovery processes requires an accurate characterization of the thermal stability of the process feed. Process safety is also increased by an adequate emergency vent and an accurate control of operating temperature, that may be reduced operating under vacuum. Safety devices may also include a water supply for emergency quench.
Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States, with the second highest work-related fatality rate during 1992-1996 (21.9 deaths per 100,000 workers). During 1992-1995, 155 deaths were reported among agricultural workers aged < or =19 years; 64 (41%) of these youths were working in their family's business . In Minnesota during 1992-1996, agriculture had the highest fatality rate of any industry (21.3 per 100,000 workers). To characterize agriculture work-related deaths among youths in Minnesota during 1994-1997, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) analyzed data from the state's Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program. This report presents five cases of agriculture work-related fatalities among youths in Minnesota.