Hello everyone,

I wanted to share with you a recent safety incident that happened in our building  (in a lab on 3^rd floor, new wing of FRNY) on Friday last week (January 17, 2020), and involved the use of a fire extinguisher and the Purdue Fire Department coming to the scene. No one was injured, nor needed medical attention.

Description of incident: A temperature controller limiting the maximum operating temperature of a heating tape used on a catalytic reactor was removed for repair, and  the heating tape was incorrectly plugged in directly into a power strip, which was not typically used for this purpose. No one in the lab was aware of this change. At this time the power strip was not plugged in and thus the heating tape was not connected to electricity.

To speed up the cooling process of another reactor, a researcher used a fan, which was plugged in into the same power strip as the heating tape serving the first reactor, and then was connected to the power supply. When power was supplied to activate the fan, this also activated the heating tape. Without the temperature controller, the heating tape (installed on a reactor that was not actively being used at the time) was able to reach a very high temperature. The heating tape was used on a stainless steel line but touched a small plastic bracket (connector), which was overheated and began to smoke. Noticing the smoke, several students alerted other group members, and by the time they assessed the situation a small flame developed from the overheated plastic connector.

Actions taken:

- The fire was quickly extinguished using the fire extinguisher in the lab. The power to the heating tape was turned off, and the fire department was called. No further action was required, and the lab was cleaned.

- The heating tape was removed from the reactor until a temperature limiting controller could be installed.

- The plastic bracket was removed from under heating tape.

- Refresher training on the proper use of heating tapes (and other electrical equipment) will be required for all group members.

Lessons learned and recommendations:

- Do not use power strips in the lab, unless absolutely necessary.

- When plugging in electrical equipment into a power strip, always check what else is plugged in and unplug it. This is important not only for safety reasons, but also because it will save energy.

- If the power strip is already connected to power, make sure you check that you don’t overload the power strip – this can also result in a fire.

- Always assess the hazards associated with a particular task and implement controls to mitigate those hazards.

- When you implement a change (in this case the temperature controller was disconnected for repairs), communicate the change to your group and others who might be affected by the change, and follow the Lock-out-Tag-out (LOTO) procedure for that piece of equipment. In this particular case, the plug for the heating tape should have been unplugged from the power strip and locked out until the temperature controller was repaired, or replaced.

- Training on LOTO process can be organized through REM, please contact Kristi Evans at 494-1431, or by email at klevans@purdue.edu to schedule a LOTO training session.

I hope that sharing this incident will prevent similar situations from happening in the future, and will help you become more aware of the importance of management of change and of following the LOTO procedure whenever needed.

Should you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you,

Gabriela

__________________

Gabriela Nagy, PhD

Industrial Education Director

Davidson School of Chemical Engineering

Room FRNY G051

Purdue University

Tel: (765)-496-1710

E-mail: nagyg@purdue.edu