We have been talking for some time with GCCA members about getting assistance from the emergency services during a hazardous incident , especially in the Cape Town Port area .
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
CONTRIBUTORS
Situation with ammonia installations in Cape Town Harbour and Waterfront By Andrew Perks
We have been talking for some time with GCCA members about getting assistance from the emergency services during a hazardous incident , especially in the Cape Town Port area .
Following on this , we had a meeting with Disaster Management at the Port Captains offices where we discussed the possibility of putting together a training course to co-ordinate the response between the cold storage industry and Disaster Management , and to highlight how to handle Ammonia in a hazardous release situation . This is not standard training , but rather specialist material relating to a specific application which really can only be put together by specialists in the industry .
From our past experience and from the collaborating response from ASTI , we have found that the fire department and disaster management services are ill prepared to handle an Ammonia incident and need some assistance . The issues with an Ammonia incident are that if it is not contained early it can escalate into a dangerous flammable chemical spill . There are various situations that can arise resulting in panic and an escalating incident .
What are you going to do when there is a facility of panicking , frightened people that you need to evacuate immediately – possibly through a cloud of Ammonia vapour – and the only gas masks available are those your onsite responder and his buddy are wearing ? Maybe it is evacuation , maybe it is shelter in place . Only someone with the correct training and experience will be able to make that call .
The only way to deal with this situation is through training . It is an OHS Act , MHI regulation and SANS 1514 site emergency plan requirement that there be yearly practical exercises where the emergency plan is executed . This may seem like a pain but there can be nothing better than practicing until it becomes second nature .
Looking at Cape Town , what is going to happen if there is a release in one of the
Image by Art Photo studio on Freepik major facilities in the V & A Waterfront Basin ? If existing standards and regulations are followed it should never happen . Never is a long time , and that is why we developed , in conjunction with ASTI ‘ Site Incident Response Training ’.
It is no good to have an emergency plan that nobody knows about and has never been exercised at your facility . Each facility is unique with its own set of issues and dynamics . I know there is a new Government Gazette for MHI installations where , if the plant has less than 15 ton of Ammonia , it is no longer classed as an MHI . Try telling that to the guys that recently died when they were working on a plant that released around 280kg .
It is essential that there is a standard response and that everyone knows what to do and when to do it . That is why each site must have its own emergency plan , the five response teams must know their individual roles , and the plan must dovetail with the emergency services ’ protocols .
The issue with the emergency services is that they do not know exactly how the refrigeration system functions or the danger attached to it . They will never be SAQCC Gas people as they don ’ t work on refrigeration plants , but as emergency people they could become embroiled in a hazardous release . Consequently , we as an industry must ensure that they are trained to a level that will ensure their safety .
Of course , in an ideal world every plant will be compliant with SANS 10147 , and undertake their three-yearly SANS compliance inspections ; be operated by competent SAQCC Gas technicians who are doing their three-monthly SANS 10147
The issue with the emergency services is that they will never be SAQCC Gas people as they don ’ t work on refrigeration plants , but as emergency people they could become embroiled in a hazardous release .
Andrew Perks is a subject expert in ammonia refrigeration . Since undertaking his apprenticeship in Glasgow in the 1960s he has held positions of contracts engineer , project engineer , refrigeration design engineer , company director for a refrigeration contracting company and eventually owning his own contracting company and low temperature cold store . He is now involved in adding skills to the ammonia industry , is merSETA accredited and has written a variety of unit standards for SAQA that define the levels to be achieved in training in our industry .
Annexures G & H ; testing plant safeties every three months and complying with the Pressure Equipment Regulation of Pressure Vessel Inspections and Relief Valve recertification . Yes , there are people out there that are doing all this and consequently operating a safe , compliant plant – but sadly not everyone .
The emergency services are really doing a sterling job considering the constraints upon them . We of the industry must do our job and keep our plants compliant . If not , the alternative could well be stricter application of the regulations by the Department of Labour . It really is up to us to get it right . Until next month , stay safe . CLA
It is essential that there is a standard response and that everyone knows what to do and when to do it .
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