Friday, 10 November 2017

What You Need To Know About Fugitive Emission Management

By Margaret Russell


When a pipeline is properly integrated, management will be at ease because threats that may be posed by such a system more so if it carries dangerous components is eliminated. In the case that these systems develop leakages, the company or industry can suffer a huge loss when compensating affected individuals or the state or government. Proper fugitive emission management systems, therefore, prevent the organization from incurring the cost associated with compensation as well as preventing charges and operations disbandment due to no-compliance with law and safety standards.

Fugitive emissions refer to vapors which are generated by pressurized equipment or tools and happen when the surfaces sustain leakages. The leaks developed can result in irregular and unintended release of particles or materials to the environment and causes pollution. Other released particles aside from pollutants may include aerosols, dust, fine particles, flanges, valves, pumps, or compressor leaks.

When these particles are left to circulate in the atmosphere, they have the ability to cause a greenhouse effect, global warming, accidents, and life-threatening conditions such as asthma and cancer of the respiratory organs when inhaled for a long period of time. Working in areas experiencing leaks from volatile organic compounds, refineries, as well as chemicals industries, is dangerous and life-threatening.

The reason is that apart from emissions causing ill-health conditions, they can cause fire outbreaks and explosions that may not be easily contained and can cause death if the leaking gasses and particles are highly flammable. In additions, the leaks may be minor or small but the particles emitted may be strong and potential of causing serious negative impacts on the health of individuals and the surrounding environment.

In many occasions, leaks generated by pressurized equipment, processes, and systems usually occur inside valves, sealing, pipe connections, or other parts of the piping which require personal or manual fixing. The activities may as well happen in places where evaporative activities take place for instance tanks, reservoirs, and storage points. Therefore, it is imperative that systems are initiated that allow the detection and correction of the leakages as soon as they occur to prevent the various negative effects.

Having detection, correction and overall leakage management systems are therefore important in curbing any occurrence. Detection and track keeping can be done through aerial inspection of the entire pipeline system. Energy-based industries mostly employ of these techniques as a way of ascertaining proper system functioning.

Corrosion monitoring is another method of making sure that the system does not develop leakages. This technique gives the operator an account of the status of the pipes which make him decide whether they are going to be replaced or not. GIS mapping, on the other hand, makes sure that the system proximities are identified and emergency response unit has been put in place. These proximities may include urban areas or densely populated areas.

The main reason is that it indicates the system proximity to areas with large human populations such as towns and urban centers as well as other areas that need proper emergency planning. Other methods include the pressure equipment integrity management, internal video inspection, and data management among others.




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