DETECTING POTENTIAL GAS LEAKS
Bhopal … A name synonymous with disaster . It was five past midnight on the night of 3rd December 1984 when a terrifying cloud of toxic methyl iso-cyanate gas leaked from a pesticide chemical plant in the heart of the Indian city of Bhopal .
Killing over 2,200 people and injuring five hundred thousand more it was the worst industrial accident in history .
Of course not every industrial gas leak is as high profile as that in Bhopal , but even one fatality is one too many . It also has to be said that not all gases used in industry are as deadly or dangerous as the gas used in Bhopal . However , even more inert gases can cause severe health issues when leaked in high concentrations .
Let ’ s consider some of the more commonly used gases in industry in Europe and around the world .
Hydrogen is one of the most explosive gases known to man . The lightest element in the periodic table , it rises as it is released and therefore doesn ’ t really pose a hazard when used outside , however when released in a building it can rise into a roof space and result in a potential explosive hazard .
Another gas commonly used in the fertiliser industry as well as the petrochemical industry is ammonia . This is a gas that causes health issues when exposed to humans . Even in low concentrations , breathing problems and asphyxiation can result , leading to unconsciousness and potentially death . A further gas in wide use is carbon dioxide .
At first it may appear extremely inert and therefore completely safe , however , as the gas is much heavier than air it collects at ground level , resulting in oxygen starvation with the obvious knock on effects for personnel .
For maintenance engineers one of the biggest problems in preventing gaseous leaks is identifying them in the first instance . Lines carrying gas are often placed at elevated positions in factories to avoid interference with people and material movements , allowing leaks to go unnoticed .
In 2021 FLIR , a world leading producer of predictive monitoring equipment launched an acoustic imaging camera with 124 highly sensitive microphones capable of detecting extremely small gas leaks from steel pipework .
20 AUTOMATION , CONTROL & ENGINEERING