 | Posting by Discussion Group Member Roland
O'Brien-Bills, Accident Investigations. What other safety
mechanisms - besides blanking and shutting off the valves - were in effect or should have
been in effect?
There was a Gentleman in earlier correspondence that suggested blanking is unwise and I
agree, for I have inspected boilers and burner fronts for years. Double shut off valves is
the proper way to secure a gas line with venting. This bit map schematic is an approximation of what I would expect as a minimum
arrangement for the gas piping for igniters. This schematic suggests there are safe guards
of at least two levels. They are Block valves and Vents. If either of the block
valves leaked by, then gas pressure could build-up and pour into the furnace only if the
vents are plugged. If the work order required the workers to replace the IHSSV (Igniter
header safety shut-off valve) then the gas line header in the steam/power plant should
have been shut down. This line also has a safety vent.
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| New Link
First Rouge
explosion suit filed - Wrongful death charged by the survivors of Wyandotte - By David Shepardson / The Detroit News -
As the investigation into the accident enters its fourth month, a group of 20
investigators, including representatives of Ford, Rouge Steel and their three insurers,
state boiler inspectors and state occupational safety officials, meets each Tuesday.
Investigators are looking at whether there was a second explosion, said Dearborn
Fire Chief Jack McArthur. His office hopes to have a preliminary cause announced by
mid-June. Safety precautions and maintenance records will be at issue in upcoming
lawsuits. In the weeks before the accident, workers near the powerhouse
complained of the smell of gas emanating from Boiler No. 6. Anderson's attorney Gerard
Mantese suggested replacement valves should have been installed and that there should have
been "appropriate exhaust fans installed in and around Boiler No. 6 so as to avoid an
unreasonable risk of an explosion." Late in April, investigators X-rayed
twisted valves on the seven-story boiler. Ford or Rouge Steel could be fined
for safety violations involving training and maintenance.
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| Rouge blast probe focuses on
valves in the powerhouse - March 4, 1999 BY NIRAJ WARIKOO,
Free Press Staff Writer. Investigators looking into the Ford Rouge plant explosion -- now
the deadliest accident at an auto facility in at least 50 years -- are examining the
valves that controlled gas flow to a powerhouse boiler. County Circuit Judge Paul
Teranes. granted the request to prevent Ford from altering or destroying evidence in
the powerhouse at the Rouge complex in Dearborn on Feb. 23. This order prevented
entry into the blast site. But Friday, he modified his ruling to say the Dearborn fire
marshal has control over the evidence and could continue the investigation.
Historians and auto officials say the blast was the deadliest accident at an auto facility
in at least 50 years and the worst in Ford's history.
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| The National Board - A rash of
injuries, deaths, and property damage in the first six weeks of 1999 due to
equipment-related incidents has prompted National Board officials to call for increased
vigilance involving boiler and pressure vessel safety. Although many of the
incidents are still being investigated, the two major causes appear to focus on fuel and
combustion problems. In Michigan, a fuel explosion is identified as the preliminary cause
resulting in four deaths, 12 injuries, and shutdown of the Ford Motor Company Rouge
Industrial Complex.
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| Ford Rouge explosion caused by gas
build-up in firebox - A state agency said Thursday that buildup of natural gas ignited
in a giant boiler, causing the explosion. "The explosion was what is termed 'a
furnace explosion,' where the firebox inside the boiler that heats up the water had a
buildup of gas in the chamber," according to a statement by state officials.
"This gas then ignited, causing the boiler to explode." A former
supervisor of the powerhouse said the only possible heat source that could detonate a
natural gas buildup in the boiler is small embers from coal dust, another fuel source for
the boiler. "I'm really not sure how that could have happened," said Al
Price, a retired foreman of the powerhouse who spent 36 years with Ford. "There's hot
slag in the furnace, and that's really the only possible heat source. The fire was off at
the time."
At the time of the explosion, the boiler was being shut down for another annual
inspection, a process that takes several hours. Price said he was told that workers had
already stopped the boiler from operating and were in the process of completing safety
procedures designed to prevent fuel leaks, especially through two large natural gas pipes
leading to the firebox. In the morning, the men "blanked" the flow of
the blast furnace gas, which means they inserted a piece of metal into the pipe,
physically preventing the gas from entering the boiler. A valve is used to control the
flow, and that is shut off first. But the physical metal barrier is also needed, workers
said, in case the valve does not close properly.
After lunch, the men planned to blank the natural gas line. "Gas was
building up somewhere. The fuel was building up and not being burned. You don't need much
to start a gas explosion," Papke said. "It was like a big pipe bomb."
The fire shot across the room to other boilers, and seemed to catch the coal that
is delivered next to the No. 1 boiler on fire. Price estimated that the water temperature
was probably about 400 degrees at the time of the explosion. The boiler is allowed to cool
for about 24 hours before anyone can inspect its interior. Price, who until last
year supervised the shift of men involved in the explosion, said a natural gas leak into
the furnace must have been ignited by coal embers. He said he doubted the gas buildup
could have been ignited by an exterior source such as a spark or lighter.
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| New Link - Workers safety - From the first day of the tragedy the
United Auto Workers union has, in advance of any investigation into the blast, gone out of
its way to exonerate Ford management. Indeed, barely two weeks after the explosion
hundreds of UAW officials gathered with their Ford counterparts for the annual
"UAW-Ford leadership conference" at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California,
where they discussed how to boost productivity and profits. By Jerry White -20
February 1999.
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| New Link - America's
workplaces--among the deadliest in the industrialized world -
From the first day of the tragedy the United Auto Workers union has, in
advance of any investigation into the blast, gone out of its way to exonerate Ford
management. Indeed, barely two weeks after the explosion hundreds of UAW officials
gathered with their Ford counterparts for the annual "UAW-Ford leadership
conference" at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California, where they discussed how
to boost productivity and profits. By Jerry White -13 February 1999.
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| New Link - A pat on the head
from the Detroit News - By Jerry White -6
February 1999 - The United Auto Workers is getting good marks from the business
establishment and the media in Detroit for its performance in the aftermath of Monday's
fatal explosion at the Ford Rouge plant. The Detroit News business writer Jon
Pepper went out of his way to give the union officials a pat on the head in his column
Wednesday, entitled "UAW applauds Ford as company shows workers it really
cares." Last year alone, the automaker cut $2.2 billion from its operating
costs, double its goal, and eliminated 9,000 jobs. It stands to reason that these
cutbacks, combined with the lack of any independent representation of the workers'
interests, contributed to the conditions that led to the explosion. Last Monday's blast,
moreover, was the most devastating, but by no means the only fatal accident in recent
years.
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| New Link -
Second Ford
Rouge worker dies - By Jerry White -6
February 1999 - There is a national code of procedures to close all valves
that carry fuel into the firebox whenever the boiler is shut down. Also, by law, there are
vents on the fuel lines that allow any remaining fuel to escape through the roof, not
travel down to the boiler. The gas should never have reached the boiler. Never. "I
read in the papers that these workers 'blank' the pipes to stop gas from entering the
firebox. We don't do that at my plant. No way. We don't need to because the valves shut
off the gas. Blanking is an extreme precaution you use only if the valves won't shut off
the gas flow. Maybe the valves were old and the men thought the gas might leak by. Maybe
the escape vents were plugged. "There are also what are called Maxon valves,
certified by the American Association of Mechanical Engineers, that are hooked to an
electrical circuit. When you shut the boiler down, the valves automatically shut and stop
the fuel intake. If the water level is low, the valve shuts off. If the oxygen level is
low, the valves slam shut. The valves are the most important thing because if you have
raw, unburned fuel in the firebox all you need is a little more heat and you get a massive
explosion. |
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|
| State says gas buildup caused
explosion - Michigan Consumer & Industry Services announced today that a gas
buildup caused the boiler explosion Monday at Ford's Rouge Manufacturing Complex. A
media alert released by the state agency said such "furnace explosions" occur
when the firebox inside the boiler has a buildup of gas, which then ignites, causing the
boiler to explode. The 1965 vintage boiler was last inspected on Feb. 20, 1998, according
to the agency. Free Press. February 4, 1999.
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| "Despite public perceptions, the risks involving boiler and pressure vessels are
very real - even in an age of advanced technology and awareness," explains National
Board Executive Director Albert J. Justin. "When it comes to dangerous equipment of
any type, everyone must cast a watchful eye."
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| "power plant was running on "bubble gum and bobby pins" -
Injured boiler operator who also stated that Ford was only doing enough to keep it
operating until Ford built a new plant.
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| Officials push blast probe
as Ford worker is buried - "The boiler experts are certain it was not a steam
explosion," Dearborn Fire Chief Jack McArthur said Monday. "We have to start
looking at other reasons for what caused this.
"We have asked everyone, the state and local investigators ... the structural
engineering and boiler experts ... representatives from Ford Motor Co. and several
insurance companies ... not to rule anything else out now, but help us decide what
evidence must still be preserved and collected." McArthur
said more than 20 people involved in the investigation will be asked to share reports of
their findings. "Hopefully in a week, maybe two, we will be able to sit
down together and find the probable cause," he said. McArthur is especially
interested in reading police interviews done with workers inside the power plant at the
time of the blast. By Mike Martindale and
Mike Wowk / The Detroit News
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| Ford Rouge welder dies at
hospital - State officials said Thursday the blast was caused by a buildup of
gas inside the boiler. Workers at the Rouge power plant said Friday the theory makes
sense, based on their experiences. "There definitely was a gas
buildup," said Barney Trupino, 38, who was working near the boiler at the time of the
blast. "The way the fire went up, ...the way it blew out." However, Ford
officials said they wouldn't be able to pinpoint the cause until the investigation is
complete. Investigators are examining whether the gas lines and natural gas valves
were working correctly at the time of the blast, Dearborn Fire Chief Jack McArthur said
Friday.
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| David Mitchell of Great Lakes Power in Detroit - "If a flame or
safety monitor wasn't functioning properly and the flame were to die out, any effort to
re-ignite it could be a problem if there's fuel in the chamber," said David Mitchell
of Great Lakes Power in Detroit. "It's a huge storage chamber and if you fill
it with enough fuel and air, you have to have somewhere for it to go," Mitchell said.
"If not, then it's kind of like corking a teakettle. It will explode."
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| Charles Redmond, Detroit's supervising boiler inspector and a member of the
National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors - "I don't envy them
at all," said Charles Redmond, Detroit's supervising boiler inspector and a member of
the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. "They have a very
difficult and complicated job ahead of them." Redmond said inspectors likely will try
to determine whether the explosion was caused by the boiler ripping apart or from a
different source. "I honestly don't believe it was a pressure vessel failure, based
on what people were saying and the pictures I saw on television," Redmond said.
"If it was the boiler, it probably would have sent parts of that boiler right through
the building and all over the grounds." Redmond said the explosion could have come
from fuel, gas or even the coal dust that's used to generate power. "Any spark could
ignite that dust, almost as easily as natural gas," he said.
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Ford Rouge Plant Explosion Investigation Site