Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking of when they work on a system with hazardous material .
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
CONTRIBUTORS
Why hiring a licensed contractor could have prevented deadly ammonia leak By Andrew Perks
Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking of when they work on a system with hazardous material .
This is an interesting story from Shane Mercer of Canadian Occupational Safety . It highlights what can go wrong when we assume things and competent people are not employed to undertake hazardous work . It all comes back to risk assessments and using a competent contractor .
Poor communication and a lack of training led to a deadly ammonia leak last year , according to the independent body that oversees safety of technical systems and equipment in British Columbia .
“ Those involved with doing the work didn ' t necessarily have the qualifications to work with ammonia ,” says Jeff Coleman , director of technical programs with Technical Safety BC . On May 26 , 2022 a ‘ significant amount ’ of ammonia was released from a refrigeration system at an ice-making facility called Arctic Glacier in an industrial park on the Tk ' emlups te Secwepemc reserve in Kamloops Canada DC .
One worker died and two others were injured when the pressurised toxic gas was released . The area around the plant was evacuated and nearby businesses were temporarily closed .
WHAT WENT WRONG “ Organisational changes , unclear communication and incorrect assessments were all contributing factors to the ammonia not being removed ,” reads the report from Technical Safety BC .
The investigation discovered that the refrigeration unit had been shut down in
Technical Safety BC releases report and recommendations
Ammonia billowing out building on May 26 , 2022 ( source : Technical Safety BC ).
2015 but the ammonia wasn ’ t removed . That critical piece of information wasn ’ t clearly communicated and then staffing changes during the seven years leading up to the incident only exacerbated the lack of knowledge surrounding the safety hazards associated with the refrigeration unit .
There were two refrigeration units that required disassembly but a licensed contractor wasn ’ t hired to do the work and “ the system wasn ' t properly assessed and interpreted ”. The workers knew one of the refrigeration units contained ammonia .
“ While they believed they were removing ammonia from one system , it was believed that the other system was empty , when in fact , it was full as well . So the following day , when one of those people opened up a valve , it released the full contents of that vessel ,” says Coleman .
RECOMMENDATIONS MADE Technical Safety BC released these three recommendations :
It is recommended that when planning for and facilitating the final shut down and disassembly of refrigeration equipment , owners and managers directly engage a licensed contractor to validate that :
• ammonia and oil are removed ; and
• equipment is ready for safe disassembly and transportation .
It is recommended that persons who previously held , or currently hold a technical qualification do not counsel unqualified persons to do regulated work . Qualified persons are reminded that the Safety Standards Act and Regulations prohibit unauthorised persons from doing regulated work unless they are being supervised by a qualified person .
It is recommended that the Canadian Standards Association ( CSA ) adopts or develops requirements for the dismantling , disassembly and / or decommissioning of refrigeration systems and equipment .
LESSONS FOR THOSE IN CHARGE Coleman says hiring a licensed professional , qualified in handling ammonia , could have prevented this tragedy .
He says it ’ s common to see a licensed contractor hired during the installation and construction phase of projects but when it comes to disassembly , “ that is often overlooked ”.
“ We forget that the same skill and hazard exists . I think that ' s an important
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 .
thing for occupational safety professionals to remember , that just because it ' s being taken apart doesn ' t mean the hazards are different .”
Another issue addressed in the second recommendation regards how a former employee had tried to coach workers on how to perform the job . Coleman says just because one worker may have held a qualification at one point in time , doesn ’ t mean they can counsel others on how to do a job that requires a specific set of skills .
“ You can ' t transfer that knowledge in a conversation . And unfortunately , if we give the wrong impression to other people , they ' re going to act on our advice ... and we have to be thoughtful of that .”
Employing a licensed professional to do the job and risk assessments by an inspector are priceless when it comes to safety . CLA‐
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