Resilium explains how to combat tank overfilling scenarios through gamification
The events of 11 December 2005 were foreseeable. Like all tank storage facilities, Buncefield was vulnerable to a well-known (and arguably obvious) threat of tank overfill. The Incident Report after the event listed similar events (loss of containment of flammable gasoline) as far back as 1962 and the Investigation Report for the incident at CAPECO in October 2009 similarly listed comparable overfill events.
In 2004 (before Buncefield), the IChemE and BP published ‘Safe Tank Farms and (Un)loading Operations’ which is part of a collection of booklets, describing how to manage hazards, and includes a breakdown of tank incidents, of which, overfilling was one of the most common specific causes and therefore not an unknown issue and the book offers the following basic guidance:
To prevent overfilling:
• Install high level alarms;
• Connect the high level sensors to an automatic shutoff valve;
• Use preset counting devices that measure the volume of liquid.
Tank 912 was provided with a level gauge to monitor the filling operation and an independent high level switch (IHLS) to automatically...
Resilium: You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Understand
