REPORT ON A TWO DAY MSA TRAINING AT THE TEMA TANK FARM FOR THE SAFETY HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

TEAM

DATE: Friday 3rd February 2012.

ABSTRACT. Safety is a paramount concern in the petrochemical industry. Working with flammable and hazardous substances under severe conditions put your production and maintenance teams under constant pressure. To achieve your safety goals and avoid accidents, you need access to information that can alert you to developing problems before an accident occurs. Meeting your quality specification and operating at maximum yield and minimize your impact on the individual, co-workers, place of work and the environment, with particular focus on reducing energy usage. Wasting resources is not an option. To adhere to these standards and prevent disasters, precautionary measures are taken day in day out to create a safe environment for works to continue. The Tema Tank Farm which is a state of the art facility that stores hydrocarbons, and is meant to serve as a hub for traders, of crude oil products, across the sub region, safety is cardinal to attain the vision and purpose of the tank farm. The products that are found on the tank farm need to be stored and dispensed safely according to strict regulations and laid down procedures that need to be followed. Therefore the Safety Health and Environment personnel need to be vigilant and stay abreast with the various safety principles of all the workings on the tank farm. As such they are to ensure that all works that are to be undertaken on the tank farm are followed and should not compromise on safety on the tank farm. They are also to undergo training courses that would equip them with the necessary safety techniques and refresh their working principles on the modern safety measures that need to be undertaken on the tank farm.

INTRODUCTION Mine Safety Appliances (MSA), is the manufacturer of safety appliances that are used in various industries all over the world. They manufacture various types of devices that aid in ensuring a safe environment for workers that might encounter hazardous situations in their daily activities. These activities might involve working in confined areas, areas where they will come into direct contact with hazardous chemicals, gases and even combustible materials. MSA has developed devices that aid in the detection of various types of gases, ranging from oxygen, combustible gases, carbon dioxide and toxic gases. They also offer training seminars on the usage of the devices to help in following safety practices. These devices are designed following International Standards as the American Petroleum Institute, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A two day training seminar was organized by a personnel of the MSA, Mr. Tebogo Mohube in charge of regional sales for West Africa, assisted by Mr. Hanson Ntow the technical director of Nfico Ghana limited. The training seminar was organized for members of the Safety Health and Environment (SHE) team of the Tema Tank Farm.

OBJECTIVES The cardinal objective of the training was to equip the members of the SHE team with techniques in the use of devices developed by the MSA group for gas detection. Detecting what kind of gas is within an area, or more specifically a work area. The training seminar was to highlight on MSA technologies that was introduced into the gas detection device and also other systems already in use that have been upgraded by the MSA group. Gas Detection Electrochemical Sensor Theory Catalytic Sensor Theory Xcell Sensor Theory Bump Test and Calibration Operation and Use

The devices that the MSA group developed for gas detection are, Altair 4 Altair 4x Altair 5 Altair 5x Altair 5x IR

TRAINING SEMINAR The seminar commenced at approximately 9:00am at the Tema Tank Farm premises. The SHE team was introduced to the areas within which the devices could be used and the departments which the device use their guidelines and rules and regulations as a guide when then devices were being designed. Notably among the areas where the devices can be used are confined areas. Confined area An area that is large enough for an individual to bodily enter and perform work, has limited or restricted areas of entry and exit. Ventilation is poor and is not conducive for human habitation for extended periods The following are some of the departments and agencies that govern health and safety that MSA uses their rules and regulations in the design and use of their Altair devices. 1. American Petroleum Institute 2. Occupational Safety and Health Administration 3. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 4. American National Standard Institute. Gaseous substances were established to be all around us, each with varying constituents and properties. They differ also in densities and also how they react when they come into contact with another medium. Therefore in an area were hydrocarbons are present there is the likelihood of various gaseous substances, (due to another property known as volatility,) all over

the area. Therefore to reduce the tendency of being exposed to the various gases, a gas detection test should be carried out so as to determine if the area is safe to inhabit for work processes or not. This is the main idea behind the use of the MSA Altair devices to determine the gases in an area so as to take preventive measures to reduce the risk of accidents occurring.