Incident Report

Subject:                   CHINA - 2,000 tonnes Gasoline Leaks after Construction Tower Collapse and Pipeline Ruptures

Date of Email report:   

Report Detail:

   
China's woes with oil leakages continued with the rupture of yet another pipeline owned by Sinopec, the country's top oil firm, resulting in the loss of about 2,000 tonnes of gasoline on Wednesday.  The gasoline leaked from a broken pipe after an accident at a construction site in southwest China's Guizhou Province last night.  This is the second pipeline to have been broken down in the last few days.

Fifty-five people were killed and 160 injured when a leaking oil pipeline exploded in Qingdao city on November 22.   Nine people, including seven officials of the state-owned Sinopec, were taken into custody in connection with the last week's rupture that triggered one of the country's worst industrial accidents.

In the latest case, the leak started in the early hours today from a broken gasoline pipe after a construction tower collapsed late last night at a high-speed railway construction site in Pingba County of Anshun City, said rescuers.   The pipeline belongs to a branch of Sinopec.  

Three persons have received medical treatment and over 110 are working to repair the broken pipe and clear the site, about 30 metres from the Shanghai-Kunming railway, with residential houses nearby, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. 

The local government has taken emergency measures to stop the leak and evacuate residents from within a 2-km radius.  Rail authorities have suspended train services from Anshun to the provincial capital of Guiyang.  A provincial joint investigation team has been formed to look into the accident and safety inspections are being carried out across the province.

Additional Documentation:

NB: Its evident that the authorities have mounted a large scalemitigationoperation(picture2)andgas and airmonitoringis taking place (picture 3)however some concerns at the‘hot zone’site safety controls (picture 1)a quick lookprovides some questions about activity in this area;

1.     Numbers of personnel in‘hot zone’– thisoperation should have minimalpersonnel in hazard zone, personnelsafety andaccountabilityis a primaryfactor.
2.     Levels ofpersonalprotection,RPE & PPE look at variety of standards (ornot) being used. What about protection from potentialthermal andchemical exposure?
3.     Mitigation methods–Engine driven pumps !  gasoline or diesel?  Why no pneumatic orhydraulicdriven bellows pumps non sparking designed for hazardous materialstransfer?
4.     Is that gasoline there pouring in therecovery hose from that bucket?  Are they trying to developpump suction due to elevation air locks with hose over wall intogasoline filledculvert?
5.     Fire-fighting– standbyarrangements, look at silver suited fire-fighters on the wall in a state of readiness!!! Is that a firehosein the background, from thehosekinking it’s not charged and ready to go…  Twoextinguishers evident on the ground.

That’s just a quick look at the scene,I’m sure they are managing containment, decontamination andoverall incident management just as well.