Posted: November 15th, 2022

Discuss the hazards posed by the interaction of the hazardous

Discuss the hazards posed by the interaction of the hazardous materials present at the refinery and adjacent facilities, including the resulting by-products of the incident fire and acid gas release.
The refinery processes 120,000 barrels of crude oil on a daily basis. Crude oil generally contains hydrocarbons whose release into the air causes many chemical and biological changes. As a general rule, the aliphatic hydrocarbons are not reactive. However, the presence of heat energy and oxidizing agents including sulphurous acid and oxygen leads to the generation of extremely hot fires, carbon dioxide, and water. Crude oil also contains sulphur. He burning of sulphur produces sulphur dioxide gas. Exposure to this gas even for short periods is a serious threat to life. The sulphur dioxide reacts with the water forming sulphurous acid. This seeps into the ground water available in the area hence pollution of the ground water. Additionally, the acid is highly corrosive and also it is highly flammable. This is why it has been recorded in OSHA’s list of highly dangerous hazardous materials (Meyer, 2014). The existence of these byproducts explain the quick ignition at the flashpoint
In addition to the above, the refinery fuel products produced by the refinery also pose a significant threat. These products include naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel. The products are all highly flammable. If vapor from any of these products reaches flashpoint or at least gets exposed to high temperatures, there is the risk of explosions.
The other concern regards the plastic recycling plant located adjacent to the refinery. Any explosions in the refinery will most likely affect the plastic recycling plant. The plastics are highly combustible when exposed to fire and due to the high content of hydrocarbons, the burning of the plastics would result in thick smoke covers alongside the presence of other dangerous and life-threatening gases including carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. The emissions will also include dangerous emissions of acidic vapors and fumes including hydrogen sulphide and hydrogen chloride.
As the lead refinery representative on the unified incident command (UIC), what actions should be taken by the UIC to respond to this incident (please consider all receptors).
The UIC needs to understand the toxic chemical releases from the incident. As the refinery representative on the UIC I would therefore inform the team of all the hazardous materials and possible toxic chemical released from the response. The immediate step would be notifying National response Centre of the incident. The two actions would help the UIC in understanding the dangers at hand and at the same time help in ensuring the safety of all responders as well as minimizing spill-over effect to the neighboring areas and the environment. The other course of action would be the establishment of a clear line of command. This should then be followed by assessment of the incident which includes the verification of all vital information concerning the incident, securing the scene, establishment of the course of action to be taken by the UIC, and the establishment of an appropriate IMS structure. Once all the assessments are completed, the UIC should then implement the response plan ensuring the reduction of the threat to the property, environment, responders, and the occupants in the neighboring premises and prevention of further spread of the fire. The response must be conducted in accordance with the guidelines published by the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues (Meyer, 2014).
If the polymerization unit is engulfed in the fire, how will this affect your response?
There is a high likelihood that the polymerization unit will catch fire in case the UIC does not get the fire in control by preventing spread to other areas of the refinery. The polymerization unit is the petrochemical section of the refinery which polymerizes olefin gases in the production of polyethylene. The products in this unit are therefore highly combustible and if the unit catches fire, the polymer fire may turn out to be extremely hot. The fire would also result in the release of thick black smoke that makes navigation in the area difficult. The fire would also lead to the release of two major life threatening gases which include nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen cyanide. Inhalation hazards may result from the two gases and the responders and firefighters may quickly suffer asphyxiation from the inhalation of hydrogen cyanide. In case that happens, it will be difficult to deal with the fire and this may lead to more catastrophic ends including spread of fire to all neighboring premises. It is therefore important to employ OSHA guidelines in dealing with the incident (Meyer, 2014).
All emergency responders participated in the post-incident critique. What corrective actions should be implemented by the refinery to prevent the reoccurrence of this incident?
The incident at the refinery happened because of human failures that led to the accidental release and ignition of the flammable gas at the refinery. There are already regulations and guidelines that have been put in place by the authorities to prevent such accidents to the property, environment, and people living in the area. The refinery need to implement the corrective actions put in place by the state and federal authorities. Implementation of the set standards will ensure that the refinery meets the minimum safety and health standards as a way of preventing future accidents. Secondly, the refinery must update all equipment and machinery. This will ensure that no machine failures can lead to such incidents. Thirdly, the refinery must ensure that there are regular safety audits to enable early detection of probable risks. This will inform the crafting of risk mitigation measures geared towards preventing any such incidents in future (Meyer, 2014).
References
Meyer, E. (2014). Chemistry of hazardous materials (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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