Following an incident aboard Suncor’s Terra Nova FPSO offshore Canada, when an offshore worker was exposed to chemicals, the Offshore Safety Body of Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board described the incident as ‘potentially fatal.’
Specifically, the incident took place on June 24, 2019, when a worker was exposed to hazardous contents of a slop tank such as, hydrogen sulfide and benzene.
As C-NLOPB reported, which cited a report from Sunci, immediately after the incident, the slop tank work scope was stopped and a health assessment of the worker was completed for potential exposure of harmful substances from the slops system.
After the medical assessment conducted on the worker, he was cleared of duties and there was no treatment required.
Although the incident, in the first place, was classified as a Near Miss – Leak of Hazardous Substance -, later on it was determined that the incident could possibly lead to a fatality.
Moreover, C-NLOPB reported
After further investigation by Suncor Energy, it has been determined that due to the potential concentrations of hydrogen sulfide inside the slop tank, the incident has been re-classified as a Near Miss with Potential for Fatality. The C-NLOPB is monitoring Suncor Energy’s continued investigation and follow-up in response to the incident.
The FPSO was back in March involved in a near miss incident after a potentially fatal drop of a grease drum from a lifting basket, but luckily, nobody was injured.
