Report by Kahnu Nanda; Paradip: Paradip Refinery in association with District Administration, conducted an off-site disaster drill on Friday and veryfied over all arrengments with regards to disaster managment. ,
A proxy LPG Leak scenario had originated from the pipeline fitting of Paradip -Haldia Durgapur- Pipeline (PHDPL) complex located within the premises of Paradip Refinery and the refinery personnel had performed the disaster drill controling any mishap.
The LPG leak was started at 11:00 hrs. on Friday when Shift in Charge of PHDPL received an alarm at their control room from one of the hydrocarbon detectors installed in the PHDPL complex. LPG leak from the first isolation valve’s upstream flange was envisaged with formation of LPG vapor cloud covering an area of 2.1 Kms up to Refinery Main gate No.2
Refinery F&S team rushed to the spot and took immediate action for cutting off all sources of ignition in the nearby vicinity of PHDPL. Simultaneously, water curtains were installed around the LPG Pump Station of PHDPL premises to prevent spread of LPG vapour cloud. M/s IOTL, the operating agency (BOOT-3) supplying LPG to PHDPL immediately isolated the line at upstream supply source. Immediate actions for Site evacuation, Stoppage of Hot works in the downwind direction and vehicular traffic were taken by Fire & Safety with the help of CISF (Fire Wing) personnel. People working on pipe rack at Simplex Bridge & along Road No. 1003 and PP Project area in north side of refinery were asked to come down safely and proceed to nearest assembly point. Workshop, Main Store and Warehouses, Site Office were also evacuated swiftly and assembled outside gate no. 2.
On noticing the leak escalating, permission for declaration of On-site disaster was taken by Chief incident controller from Overall Coordinator. Disaster Control room was accordingly activated and all the Disaster coordinators reported at their designated locations and emergency handling activities were activated as per Emergency Response & Disaster Management Plan (ERDMP) of the Refinery. Information about the major emergency was given to Mutual Aid Partners, RHQ and district authorities. Vehicles along with crew reported from M/s IFFCO , M/s PPL & IOCL- PHBPL for assistance.
Continuous monitoring of LPG was being done in the down wind direction using multi-gas detectors and on noticing the presence of LPG above the limit of Lower Explosive Level just outside the main entry gate (gate-2) of the Refinery District Administration was apprised of the situation and Offsite Disaster was declared. District Administration was requested to extend all necessary help and support. Shri B. Biswal Addl. District Magistrate, Paradeep and Shri B.C. Mishra, Addl. SP, Paradeep and other officials of District Administration rushed to the Refinery site. The situation was assessed and activities were monitored by the ADM & ASP.
With the concerted efforts of all stake holders and after about 45 minutes of emergency handling operations, the affected line was depressurized and emptied. The situation was assessed by the ADM in consultation with the Refinery Officials and found to be normal. After restoration of normalcy in all affected area, clearance was given for blowing of “All Clear Siren. The major offsite emergency exercise was called off at 11-47 hrs.
Subsequent to the drill, a debriefing session was conducted in the Disaster Control Room of Paradip Refinery. Ten observers deployed at different strategic locations presented their observations recorded during the drill. Shri B. Biswal, ADM, Paradeep, Shri B.C. Mishra, ASP-Paradeep, Shri T.D.V.S. Gopalakrishna, ED(T) and Shri G.S. Singh, ED I/c & other senior officials of IOCL, Paradip Refinery, representatives from mutual aid partners, IFFCO, PPL & PHBPL were present and expressed their views during the debriefing sessions. Sri B. Biswal, ADM, Paradip appreciated the efforts of all involved in conducting the disaster drill at IOCL, Paradip Refinery and he also advised to ensure awareness of the surrounding population for necessary preparedness under different emergency situations. ED (I/c) Paradip Refinery complimented all for successful conduct of the major offsite emergency exercise on LPG leak at PDR and advised for time bound action for implementation of all acceptable recommendations.
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