Excess Pressure Build Up Causes Gas Oil Material Leak

Location: Burnaby
Regulated industry sector: Boilers, PV & refrigeration - Boiler and pressure vessel system

Incident Overview

During a planned maintenance shutdown of heat exchanger, excess pressure built up at the gasket sealing connection. This was caused by steam heating and expanding the gas/oil mixture that was trapped. Once the pressure was released, there were no further leaks. Damage was limited to the gasket seals, with no damage to the heat exchanger. The investigation found that there was no documented protocol for draining blocked material from one side of the exchanger when energy is applied to the other side.