PRODUCTION • PROCESSING • HANDLING
ELIMINATING EMISSIONS
Bob Gallagher explores leak detection and repair strategies to track down fugitive emissions
Industrial plants must monitor emissions through LDAR programmes
F
ugitive emissions – unintended leaks of gases or vapours from pressurised industrial equipment – can be extremely
hazardous to workers, the community, and the environment. Faulty pieces of equipment – commonly valves and connectors – are typically to blame, and even small discharges can add up to dangerous levels of volatile air pollutants. This has led to the tightening of regulations globally, with many governments now requiring industries to implement leak detection and repair programs to monitor, analyse and reduce the volume of hazardous gases escaping into the environment.
MEETING INDUSTRIAL REGULATIONS Fugitive emissions can be caused by a number of diff erent factors, from simple expansion and contraction of components or gasket failures to improper maintenance practices. Accumulation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), even from
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small leaks, can cause workers to be exposed to dangerous concentrations of the chemicals, and can also contribute to smog and air pollution with links to asthma, cancer, infertility and birth defects. Owing to these health concerns, many governments and health agencies place strict requirements on companies to monitor and manage emissions. European Standard EN 15446:2008 applies across the European Union and requires the measurement of fugitive emissions of VOCs from process equipment. If a leak is detected, it mandates the measurement of gas concentration at the interface of a leak, using a portable instrument to calculate a mass emission rate. In the US, the industry is overseen
by a host of regulatory bodies – such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – which are enforcing increasingly stringent fugitive emission guidelines. The EPA fi rst introduced
its Clean Air Act in 1970 to protect the public and the environment from VOCs and, in 1983, it mandated compulsory leak detection and repair (LDAR) programmes throughout the industry. These regulations have been continuously updated since, with the agency introducing the New Source Performance Standards, the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, all of which involve the application of LDAR to monitor and reduce hazardous gas emissions. There are 25 federal standards that require facilities to implement LDAR programmes using the monitoring procedure known as Method 21.
WHAT ARE LDAR PROGRAMMES? An LDAR programme is designed to identify and overhaul leaking equipment, allowing a facility to control and reduce fugitive emissions. Any component subject to LDAR requirements must be monitored
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