For OLYMPian calm
“Orsknefteorgsintez” started to use the plant “Olymp-2002” at its treatment facilities. The automated system neutralizes chlorine in case of excessive discharges by 99/8%, i.e. almost completely. This event is of great importance for the whole city, for it has historically come round that the plant named after Chkalov, at present a subsidiary of “RussNeft” delivers only 10% of drains, but purifies practically all the water in Orsk.
Chlorine discharges in our country, same as in all the world, are not , unfortunately, a rare thing. Accidents in Khabarovsk, Tula, Novomoskovsk, Chuvashia were top lines of newspaper columns. The most sad fact was that almost in every case the poisonous gas inflicted harm to people.
At the pump station of Verkhneturinsk engineering plant a faucet got out of order. Poisonous gas started leaking from the reservoir. The fault was discovered fifteen minutes later. But this time was enough for 15 people top get serious poisoning. Seven of them were taken to a toxicological center with pulmonary edema. The physician managed to save all the sufferers.
In Tula 10 cubic meters of gaseous chlorine made a cloud more than 5 square kilometers wide in less than 15 minutes and hanged over Lobovskoye storage lake. The emergency was promptly localized. But more than 70 people suffered.
Chlorine does not like negligence. In order not to permit accidents to happen again the specialists of “Orskefteorgsintez” decided to eliminate the so-called “human factor” and to introduce a unique system, a project of native scientists. In our region there are no such systems, and only several units can be found all over the country. “Olymp-2002” can neutralize 1 ton of chlorine.
“Such volume can be discharged if a container blows up, but this is unreal” In practice such a situation is improbable”, says A.I.Bogdanov, deputy manager of biological and chemical treatment shop. “We are speaking about theoretical calculations. In fact, the system switches on before the situation becomes crucial. At the earliest stages. Audio- and light signals switch on at the minimal gas content in the air, 1 MAC, which is 1 mg of chlorine per 1 cubic meter of air. The second operating threshold (20 MAC) automatically triggers on the absorbing plant. It draws in the air, contaminated by chlorine, neutralizes it in a special solution and releases clean air. The last drops which can stay in the purified air in aerosol-like form are neutralized by droplet separator.
The effect is practically 100%. But even after complete cleaning of the air the system does not switch off and will keep cleaning the atmosphere until the operator switches it off manually. It is also a thought-out stage of the process.
The administration of the plant and “Russneft”, who realize that the level of responsibility of the petrochemists is very high, invest considerable means both in ecological programs on the whole and into development of treatment facilities, which traditionally work for the whole town. “Olymp-2002” is just another step in the process of upgrading. More significant stages are still to follow.
Irina Reutova.