High Pressure Jet Cleaning

Safety Lesson Learned : High Pressure Jet Cleaning
Location of Incident : BP Chemical, Pahang Malaysia

Brief Account of Incident
The incident occurred at about 3.22 p.m. on Tuesday 15th May 2001 during high pressure (HP) water jet cleaning inside rotary vacuum filter (RVF) B ,BM702B. The contractor worker was doing cleaning for final inspection. The equipment was being overhauled.
During cleaning, the worker who was working alone inside the restricted & confined working area suddenly slipped and sprayed his right foot with the 3000 psi HP water jet stream. The water jet passed through his rubber boot and cut his right big toe. He received a deep lacerated wound measuring about 3 cm long on the lateral side of his right big toe. 7 stitches were administered. On the following day after the incident, he returned to work on restricted to light duty work.

Critical Factors
1. Lack of knowledge and compliance to the plant safety regulation
2. Lack of appropriate PPE – using non-steel toe shoes and no metal leg protectors.
3. Restricted/confined cleaning working area.
4. Improper communication/decision making by staff and contract staff.
5. Slippery condition inside the RVF drum.