Major local and international airlines choose Indian Oil Aviation Service as their primary jet fuel supplier, making it one of the top aviation fuel solution providers in India. From the busy metropolises to the isolated airports connecting the vast Indian landscape—from the frigid heights of Leh (the highest airport in the world at 10,682 feet) to the far-off islands of Andaman & Nicobar—Indian Oil Aviation Service refuels over 2,200 flights every dawn. Indian Oil Aviation Service has awarded iFluids Engineering to carry out Quantitative risk assessment study for Chabua AFS, Assam.
The Chabua AFS operation at the location basically involves receipt, storage and delivery of aviation turbine fuel through the Indian Air Force and Indian Army.
The process description is as follows:
- Receipt of ATF from Bongaigaon Installation, Lumding Terminal, Guwahati refinery by tank trucks under normal circumstances.
- Storage of ATF in Semi-buried tanks.
- Distribution of ATF to IAF.
The main objective of this study is to determine the possible risk levels for employees that could arise from the unintended release of hazardous materials from facilities in the event of a loss of containment, and to demonstrate that individual risks are within generally accepted bounds. Here is a list of QRA‘s objectives:
- Recognizing risks and significant incidents of loss of containment (LOC).
- Calculating the heat radiation distances from jet fires, pool fires, flammable gas dispersions, and overpressure explosions for the physical effects of failure case scenarios.
- Evaluation of Failure Frequency.
- Quantify social risks and estimate potential loss of life.
- Conduct a risk assessment to ensure that the risk can be mitigated according to the ALARP principle, in accordance with the UK HSE risk acceptance criteria.
- To make sure that all hazards are in the ALARP or in the Acceptable area, suggest risk-reducing actions.
The following are the results of QRA Study
Location Specific Individual Risk
The likelihood that someone who stays permanently and unprotected in a particular place may suffer an accident within a year. The risk to an individual varies depending on where a specific plant is located. Every Risk Ranking location taken into account for the study is located in the acceptable zone. The Individual Risk (IR) provides an estimate of the risk that, regardless of population, will be present at each location (or, in this case, every area). The study’s individual risk results for each participant at each risk ranking site fall within the acceptable range.
Individual Risk for the people
Societal Risk
The relationship between the frequency and the number of individuals in a particular population experiencing a given level of harm as a result of specific risks is provided by the Societal Risk. The analysis concludes that for the entire population taken into consideration, the societal risk is within the acceptable range.
Based on the observations following are the recommendations of the study
- Ensure suitable fire protection system is provided as per OISD-117 guidelines.
- It is recommended to avoid any ignition source during filling operation.
- Ensure that the Tank operator should be well trained to handle emergency situation as per emergency response disaster management plan.
- Ensure the tankers are fitted with spark arrestors before entering the premises.
- Mock drills to be organized at the Aviation Fuel Station to ensure preparation of the personnel’s working for handling any hazardous situation.
- Ensure each hose shall be visually checked for damage every time prior to use.
HAZOP
The goal of HAZOP research is to manage risks by identifying hazards, estimating the likelihood that an incident will occur in the plant, and assessing the available measures to shield people, property, the environment, and plants from harm.
The Objective of HAZOP is as follows,
- Identify the Hazards in the facility.
- Determine the cause that will probably result in consequences or an accident at the site.
- If necessary, offer recommendations in order to reduce the risks present in the establishment.
- Every now and then, HAZOP finds things that could enhance facility efficiency and unit operations.
The time and resource requirements of HAZOP are a significant obstacle, particularly for big, intricate, or dynamic systems or processes. HAZOP requires a diversified team of experts who must devote a great deal of time and effort to data collection and analysis, scenario creation, risk assessment, and recommendation making. Furthermore, HAZOP demands a great deal of communication and paperwork, which can add to the workload and complexity. Depending on the scale and complexity of the system or process, a HAZOP can be completed in a few weeks, months, or even years.
Specific task groups should be given recommendations, and action-based language (check, provide, consider, ensure, and review, for example) should be used to communicate them. When the HAZOP team thought the current safeguards were sufficient to control the possible risks identified to acceptable levels, no recommendations were made.