If a burst disc ruptures prematurely before reaching the designed pressure, can this be considered an accident? ? ? ?
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The rupture disc on our company’s reactor burst prematurely before reaching the designed pressure; the set pressure of the rupture disc was 0.72 MPa, while the pressure in the reactor was 0.6 MPa. The operators on site did not violate any procedures, and the DCS system showed normal readings. No injuries were caused by this burst, and the cause of the incident has been largely identified – it could be due to incorrect installation of the rupture disc or issues with its quality. I would like to ask fellow experts: can this situation be classified as an accident? Are there any relevant criteria for that? ? ? I hope someone knowledgeable can answer.
Reply 1# kengogo: An accident is inevitable. But if it's a quality issue, then it's a equipment failure.
According to the definition of production safety accidents: incidents that occur during production and business activities and result in casualties or direct economic losses. This incident proves that damage to equipment during installation or use should certainly be considered an accident.
Check whether the pressure gauge reading of your reactor is normal, and then check your rupture disc; analyze it
It’s a device failure, I guess. If the pressure is fine, then it’s a problem with the quality of the explosion-proof membrane or its installation.
Personally, I think the rupture of an explosion-proof membrane is of the same nature as the activation of a safety valve; it’s just that when the explosion-proof membrane breaks, there is more noise, and at most it constitutes a equipment failure – how can it be considered an accident? Secondly, there are various factors that affect the lifespan of explosion-proof membranes during their manufacturing, installation, and use, and these factors are difficult to distinguish and identify. Thirdly, under such pressure, if there are no highly toxic or particularly valuable materials involved, it is not necessary to use explosion-proof membranes; the quality of our explosion-proof membranes is not particularly reliable.
It should be classified as an accident. Although no injuries were caused, it is important to understand the threat such accidents pose to personal safety
A production safety accident refers to an unexpected incident that occurs suddenly during production and business operations (including activities related to such operations), which endangers human safety and health, damages equipment and facilities, or causes economic losses, thereby leading to the temporary suspension or permanent termination of those production and business operations (including activities related to them). At present, it can only be determined based on the economic losses; it’s not clear how much those losses amount to. I believe that the premature explosion of the blast disc should be carefully analyzed to identify the causes and prevent such incidents from happening again.
My major isn’t in this field. I think it’s still a device issue. It should be considered an accident, and it can be summarized.
According to our internal regulations, any issue that causes certain impact must be classified as an accident, but it is necessary to identify the exact cause and the responsible party. If the responsible party cannot be identified or the cause is unclear, the competent authority bears primary responsibility, while the using unit and related entities bear corresponding responsibilities. Although it is somewhat unreasonable, to some extent it also enhances everyone’s sense of responsibility.
If all parameters of the system are normal, it’s a problem with the burst disc； Cut it out and replace the blast disc.