Kingsport, Tennessee Goes the Extra Mile for Safety
Cryogenic training with Eastman Chemical Fire Department helps protect first responders.
Danny Walker, Air Products driver from Gray, Tennessee (far right), discusses the workings of a cryogenic trailer with Eastman firefighters in a hands-on demonstration. Danny is a three-time Gray terminal driver-of-the-year winner. In the competition, drivers put their knowledge and driving skills to the test. This year, Danny took third place in a field of ten drivers.
Air Products’ team simulated a large cryogenic leak on a bulk trailer to demonstrate how a large vapor cloud could form under uncontrolled conditions.
Eastman Chemical's Kingsport, Tennessee facility is one of the largest chemical facilities in North America and has been in operation for almost 100 years. Since 1983, Air Products has been supplying oxygen and nitrogen through pipelines when Eastman started up the first coal gasification facility in the United States to produce chemicals from syngas. More recently this customer signed another long-term contract to continue supplying them for an additional 30 years. Air Products also makes bulk truck deliveries to Eastman's on-site cryogenic tanks.
During a recent meeting with Eastman Emergency Services to discuss their SAFER system, Air Products' Kingsport Site Manager, Chris Early, mentioned that our Company had conducted safety drills and cryogenic demonstrations with many local emergency responders, including the Kingsport Fire Department, Johnson City Fire Department and Washington County Emergency Medical Service (EMS). Eastman Safety Services personnel then expressed an interest in cryogenic training sessions for themselves with Air Products' drivers and trucks.
That's when a cross-functional team from Air Products swung into action to make it happen. To include all the shifts of Eastman Chemical Fire Department's first responders, Air Products' Logistics team and Gray, Tennessee Driver, Danny Walker, worked with Eastman security to conduct four training sessions during the month of October.
Each session started with Q&A about the hazards of cryogenic products. Then, participants discussed the function and operation of the valves used to load and unload a cryogenic trailer during a hands-on demonstration. Next, the team simulated a large cryogenic leak on the trailer to demonstrate how a large vapor cloud could form under uncontrolled conditions. The training concluded with a demonstration where different objects were frozen in a container of liquid nitrogen, showing the effects of its cryogenic properties.
Air Products' team stressed the importance of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent frostbite from skin coming in direct contact with cryogenic liquids. They also talked about the asphyxiation hazards related to nitrogen and argon gas concentrating in confined spaces. Eastman Fire Department Training Supervisor, Eric Kent, told our team that the training was a great tool to help prepare his team how to safely respond in case of an emergency. He also thanked Air Products for going the extra mile to provide training to his firefighters.