Storage Tank Safety: Top Questions To Ask Before Your Next Tank Repair
Safety first. A quick and simple two-word phrase we’ve all heard countless times before. Whether we’re strapping on a helmet for a bike ride, buckling our seatbelts, or looking both ways before crossing the street, we’ve been taking preventative measures to ensure our safety, and the safety of others, since day one. Unfortunately, however, this isn’t always the case in above-ground storage tank repair.
According to the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), since 1990, there have been over 60 fatalities due to explosions and fires caused by hot work repairs/maintenance on ASTs. In addition, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports an additional 160 fatalities associated with confined space entry since 1982.
Before starting any storage tank repair, it’s important to ask the right questions in order to be fully prepared for the task at hand. Below, we’ve outlined the nine most important safety-related questions to ask before starting the next repair on your AST.
1. What was in the tank?
This is the first question that should be answered on every storage tank repair. With 80% of all confined space fatalities attributed to a hazardous atmosphere, employees need to be aware of the hazards and risks associated with the particular chemical(s) the tank contained.
2. What’s around the tank?
Although you may have come to fix only the tank, make sure first that there aren’t any additional hazards in your work area.
3. Is the tank properly isolated?
Lock out/tag out procedures are always a main concern of storage tank repair. However, is simply locking and tagging out a valve enough? Make sure the tank doesn’t need to be physically isolated before moving forward. If the tank does need physical isolation, do not proceed with repairs until it has been properly isolated.
4. Is there proper ventilation?
When working in a confined space like a storage tank, proper air ventilation is crucial to ensuring a safe repair. As a rule of thumb, the American Petroleum Institute recommends a minimum of five air changes per hour to ensure suitable ventilation.
5. What does the inspection report tell us about the tank’s integrity?
How stable is the roof? Are there any holes in the tank? The inspection report will answer questions like these, and provide valuable knowledge to your repairmen.
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6. Is the tank gas free and ready for hot work?
Make sure all parts of the tank (pontoons, floors, sumps, pipes, roof drains, etc.) are free of gas before starting any hot work. Remember, more than 60 deaths have been directly caused by hot work on storage tanks since 1990.
7. Is there lead in the paint?
Overexposure to lead is common in the industry and is a leading cause of workplace illness. Make sure you conduct a lab analysis to determine if lead is present, as lead “swab sticks” only have a threshold of detection near 500 ppm. Any detectable amount of lead triggers the OSHA Requirements.
8. Is the floating roof secure?
To ensure roof safety, make sure a form of anti-rotation is in place and in working order. Be sure to verify that all legs have landed and remain vertical as well. For additional safety measures, you can also install roof supports on the shell.
9. Are rescue services available in case of an emergency?
No one plans for accidents to happen. That being said, when accidents do happen, you need to be prepared. Have a safety plan in place and make sure emergency services are available to help in the event something goes wrong.
With the health and safety of your employees on the line, it’s extremely important that you answer these questions before starting your next storage tank repair. For additional information regarding storage tank safety, please check out OSHA’s guide on Major Work Activities for Tank Cleaning Operations.
Stop the problem before it starts! Download our free tip sheet, “6 Signs Your Tank Needs Some TLC” and learn to identify the warning signs associated with a damaged storage tank.
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I love this site, and have been using it for years; in fact I assumed I had an account here, but I guess not! My Flotec well pressure tank that I put in 10-15 years ago failed, and I also wanted to replace my brass tee. The tee seemed to have held up well, until I dragged it out into the sunlight. Anyways, I came here to find out what brand of tank to buy, and its here where I found out about the stainless steel option. I'll post my pictures and procedure in case there's someone like me googling for some help. So please criticize/correct anything I put here, in hopes it makes someone else's install better.
Little background, I replaced the well tank and electric hot water heater shortly after I bought my house, 15 years ago or so. I noticed fast-cycling of the pressure, and, my wife noticed the water had a "rust" taste. I replaced my hw heater anode (for the third time) , and now I'm doing the well tank. When the bladder goes on the Flotec tank, the water is not contained in the bladder; it touches the rusty inside walls of the tank, I *think*. What follows is my review of the tee on amazon, followed by one question for the experts here:
This Boshart
So all these connections got the stainless ptfe + megaloc . And none of them leaked*
My package did not come with instructions but its not hard. Do the pre-assembly as much as you can in a warm upright place. Here's the order I did things:
- well circuit breaker off, photo the electric switch connections, remove electric connections to switch
- drain old tank as much as possible, disconnect well-poly connection, disconnect house supply connection
- drag the 3/4 full old tank outside to actually drain
- back upstairs, attach 11" stainless pipe to new tank (wx202)
- attach faucet, pressure-relief, guage, switch, backflow preventer, barb..., ball-valve and new shark-bite fitting
- back in the basement, attach the assembled tee to the tank/pipe via union fitting. No ptfe, no pipe dope.
- roughly place the tank. re-attach the electrical; re-attach the poly well line to the barb.
- more accurately place the tank/tee to line up with your house supply, and attach copper house line to the shark-bite (my sharkbite was a 1" to 3/4" reducer as well. had to special order it)
- cross your fingers and turn the electricity on
I put the previous brass tee in 10-15 years ago, with the flotec tank, and they worked well. The corrosion on the tee prompted me to spend the extra ...$80? on stainless. Plus, this one has a union, so if the tee lasts forever, I can swap in new well tanks as needed.
My question... Turns out my statement "none of them leaked" was wrong. The connection of the 11" stainless pipe to the Amtrol wx-202 (purchased from NYDIRECT, good value over amazon) has a slow drip. Again, I put the stainless ptfe tape on the threads, and megaloc dope , and got it pretty tight in my office; however during the install in my basement, the pipe was turning a few degrees +/- as I connected to the well supply and house.
I bought a pipe wrench (yeah, all the above was done without a pipe wrench, the bottom half of mine was broken; I used big channel locks) and tightened that sucker up 3/4 of a turn. It was an easy turn. Because I had a heavy pipe wrench? Because I was stripping the shit out the tank or pipe threads? I don't have the experience to tell. As I tightened the tank connection, the stainless union loosens, so I simultaneously tightened that .
It seems the 3/4 turn got rid of most of the drip, but not all of it. My questions
- should I just suck it up and tighten it another turn?
- or, should I re-tape and re-dope and do it again? This would be kind of a big job, draining the tank and ... well yah just draining the tank.
Hi,I love this site, and have been using it for years; in fact I assumed I had an account here, but I guess not! My Flotec well pressure tank that I put in 10-15 years ago failed, and I also wanted to replace my brass tee. The tee seemed to have held up well, until I dragged it out into the sunlight. Anyways, I came here to find out what brand of tank to buy, and its here where I found out about the stainless steel option. I'll post my pictures and procedure in case there's someone like me googling for some help. So please criticize/correct anything I put here, in hopes it makes someone else's install better.Little background, I replaced the well tank and electric hot water heater shortly after I bought my house, 15 years ago or so. I noticed fast-cycling of the pressure, and, my wife noticed the water had a "rust" taste. I replaced my hw heater anode (for the third time) , and now I'm doing the well tank. When the bladder goes on the Flotec tank, the water is not contained in the bladder; it touches the rusty inside walls of the tank, I *think*. What follows is my review of the tee on amazon, followed by one question for the experts here:This Boshart package came with almost everything necessary to install a tank. Their website says to use the stainless PTFE tape (included) and put their Boshart Gray Magic pipe sealant over top of the tape. That stuff seems to only be available at the Boshart site (not amazon). I looked it up on Terry Love plumbing website, and the consensus there was that Megaloc (and a few other) general pipe thread sealant over top is not bad idea.So all these connections got the stainless ptfe + megaloc . And none of them leaked*My package did not come with instructions but its not hard. Do the pre-assembly as much as you can in a warm upright place. Here's the order I did things:- well circuit breaker off, photo the electric switch connections, remove electric connections to switch- drain old tank as much as possible, disconnect well-poly connection, disconnect house supply connection- drag the 3/4 full old tank outside to actually drain- back upstairs, attach 11" stainless pipe to new tank (wx202)- attach faucet, pressure-relief, guage, switch, backflow preventer, barb..., ball-valve and new shark-bite fitting- back in the basement, attach the assembled tee to the tank/pipe via union fitting. No ptfe, no pipe dope.- roughly place the tank. re-attach the electrical; re-attach the poly well line to the barb.- more accurately place the tank/tee to line up with your house supply, and attach copper house line to the shark-bite (my sharkbite was a 1" to 3/4" reducer as well. had to special order it)- cross your fingers and turn the electricity onI put the previous brass tee in 10-15 years ago, with the flotec tank, and they worked well. The corrosion on the tee prompted me to spend the extra ...$80? on stainless. Plus, this one has a union, so if the tee lasts forever, I can swap in new well tanks as needed.My question... Turns out my statement "none of them leaked" was wrong. The connection of the 11" stainless pipe to the Amtrol wx-202 (purchased from NYDIRECT, good value over amazon) has a slow drip. Again, I put the stainless ptfe tape on the threads, and megaloc dope , and got it pretty tight in my office; however during the install in my basement, the pipe was turning a few degrees +/- as I connected to the well supply and house.I bought a pipe wrench (yeah, all the above was done without a pipe wrench, the bottom half of mine was broken; I used big channel locks) and tightened that sucker up 3/4 of a turn. It was an easy turn. Because I had a heavy pipe wrench? Because I was stripping the shit out the tank or pipe threads? I don't have the experience to tell. As I tightened the tank connection, the stainless union loosens, so I simultaneously tightened that .It seems the 3/4 turn got rid of most of the drip, but not all of it. My questions- should I just suck it up and tighten it another turn?- or, should I re-tape and re-dope and do it again? This would be kind of a big job, draining the tank and ... well yah just draining the tank.