By Lukman Nulhakiem
Compressed gas cylinders have to be handled properly. Otherwise, associated hazards such as fall, fire, explosion or hazardous gas leakage may happen. That is why a safety guide on compressed gas handling is vitally important.
Here are some safety tips on how to handle gas cylinders safely:
1. It should be kept in a special room, fenced and locked.
2. Authorized and trained workers can only have access to the storage room.
3. Protect the cylinders against mechanical damage, by using appropriate racks or other means to hold them securely.
4. When it is not used, valve caps should always be in place.
5. To move the gas cylinders manually use sturdy hand trucks, which can hold one or two.
6. Do not handle them with electromagnets, ropes or slings.
7. Put appropriate label on the cylinders, which describes content and pressure.
8. Do not allow cylinders to direct sunshine or expose to high temperature (more than 52deg of Centigrade).
9. Keep flame away from contact with cylinder surface.
10. Keep flammable materials away from the cylinders.
11. Use suitable piping, valves, fittings and others apparatus for the contained gas and pressure.
12. Make sure we have provided valves, regulators and safety relief devices.
13. Always open cylinder valve slowly to wide-open position.
14. Maintain these cylinders and their accessories in good condition.
15. Never use defective safety relief device and leaked cylinder. Mark it and separate from the good ones.
16. Separate and mark empty cylinders from the stock.
17. Do not accept gas cylinders without clear label and in bad condition.
18. Calculate exactly your consumption. It is unsafe to store many compressed gas cylinders for 1 year consumption.
Compressed gas cylinder is a typical source of hazards found in chemical plants. So take it into account when we will do hazard identification task. And the above safety tips are forms of hazard controls.
Lukman Nulhakiem is a production engineer at a hydrogen peroxide plant in Indonesia. To learn more about safety in a chemical plant, visit his blog manufacturing plant safety
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lukman_Nulhakiem
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