News
Total E&P UK Ltd
The hazard presented by both mercury vapour and benzene when breaking vessel containment on an offshore oil and gas rig, calls for accurate, real-time monitoring of trace levels to prevent personnel exposure.
Like mercury, which is extremely toxic, with inhalation of the vapour producing harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys, benzene is a natural constituent of crude oil and one of the elementary petrochemicals. It has been identified as carcinogenic to humans, causing acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
Because it is very easy for workers to be exposed to benzene and mercury vapour, portability is a vital factor in preserving their safety. Analysers that can be easily carried from place to place on an offshore rig provide employees with the ability to self-monitor their surroundings. An added complication with mercury is its tendency to form amalgams with several metals, particularly aluminium, which leads to liquid metal embrittlement (LME). This can affect pipeline welds, cryogenic components, aluminium heat exchangers and hydrogenation catalysts. Failure of these components can lead to a plant shutdown with severe economic implications. In order to ensure maximum protection for personnel when breaking open vessels and hydrocarbon lines, Total purchased several Jerome 405 Mercury Vapour Analysers and UltraRAE 3000 Benzene Monitors from ABLE via our 247able E-commerce platform. The UltraRAE 3000 is the most advanced Compound-Specific Monitor on the market. Its Photoionization Detector’s (PID) extended range of 0.05 to 10,000 ppm in VOC mode and 50 ppb to 200 ppm in benzene-specific mode makes it ideal for the application in question.
The high specificity of the Jerome’s Gold Film Sensor technology precludes the possibility of erroneous readings from common interferents such as water vapour and measurements down to 0.5ug/m3 are easily achievable.