The 2018 CGA Safety and Reliability of Industrial Gases, Equipment, and Facilities Seminar was held October 16-18, in Hollywood, Florida. This is CGA’s longest first and longest running seminar, first held in 1962. This year’s seminar was chaired by Dr. John Somavarapu of American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. and managed by CGA’s Atmospheric Gases and Equipment Committee. The event attracted over 80 attendees from 14 countries including Belgium, Canada, China, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guyana, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The two and a half day program included a wide range of presentations on technical topics, lessons learned, and best practices covering topics such as compressor building safety, thermal fatigue of equipment in cryogenic service, cleaning metals for oxygen service, industrial gas underground pipeline risk management, cryogenic tanker loading safety, risk based audits, and more. The seminar also featured a history session designed to communicate the basis for current industry positions. The historical presentations, given by the industry’s leading subject matter experts, spanned a range of topics including:
- oxygen compressor safety and barrier design;
- use of aluminum in oxygen service;
- safe design and operation considerations for reboilers and condensers;
- cold box integrity;
- perlite management and safeguards;
- safe use of brazed aluminum heat exchangers;
- safe design and operation of flat-bottomed storage tanks;
- prevention of cryogenic embrittlement;
- oxygen valve and equipment safety;
- evolution of liquid oxygen pumps for high pressure gaseous oxygen production;
- oxygen enrichment hazards; and
- cleaning equipment for oxygen service.
Industry members’ willingness to share lessons learned, best practices, research results, and new technologies supports the air separation industry’s long history of safe operation. Seminar attendees gave the seminar an overall rating of Excellent and noted the exceptional educational value as well as the high quality of presentations and knowledge of speakers.
The next Safety & Reliability of Industrial Gases, Equipment, & Facilities Seminar will be held on October 16 – 17, 2019 in Florida. CGA also plans to hold a Specialty Gases Technical & Safety Seminar in 2019. For more information on our seminars or other educational programming, please contact us.
International Harmonization Council – February 2019 Update
/0 Comments/in International Harmonization /by CGACGA Appoints Sarah Saunders New Director of Marketing & Communications
/0 Comments/in CGA News /by CGAThe Compressed Gas Association (CGA) announces that Sarah Saunders has assumed the newly created role of Director of Marketing and Communications at the trade association.
CGA Annual Meeting Sponsorships – Spaces Limited!
/0 Comments/in CGA News /by CGANow approaching its 106th year, the Compressed Gas Association continues to set the standard for safety for the industrial and medical gas industry. The CGA Annual Meeting is the largest technically-focused gathering of our industry’s subject matter experts. We anticipate approximately 250 attendees, including representation from every facet of the industry. This is your opportunity to market directly to an audience of influential industry leaders.
There are several opportunities for your company to connect with Annual Meeting attendees. As a sponsor of the 2019 CGA Annual Meeting, you will support the critical work of CGA, create goodwill amongst CGA members, and increase awareness of your organization amongst attendees. Your organization will enjoy a number of benefits, including showcasing your products and services to potential clients, inclusion of your branding in meeting materials, and recognition at major meeting functions. With participants from all levels of leadership within the industry, your company will want to connect with our meeting attendees – the driving forces in the industry.
Contact Us to secure your sponsorship today!
CGA Year in Review
/0 Comments/in CGA News /by CGAThanks to support from our members and staff, CGA celebrated a number of achievements in 2018. We launched several new products aimed at capturing and sharing critical knowledge to the next generation of industry professionals including eLearning modules, webinars, and a seminar history session. We pilot tested improvements to our work process in order to improve our efficiency and make committee work more manageable for our members who volunteer their time and expertise to support CGA’s critical projects. We also established a new entity, the CGA Certification Board LLC, in response to member needs for a third party certification for bulk compressed medical gas supply system personnel. The 2018 Year in Review summarizes these accomplishments, and many more.
We’ve already made some exciting announcements for 2019, including a revitalized Annual Meeting experience, expanded plans for our educational programming, and a renewed focus on marketing and communications. We look forward to continuing to set the standard for safety as we serve you!
Revised Edition: CGA G-4.1, Cleaning of Equipment for Oxygen Service
/0 Comments/in Publications /by CGACGA has published its 7th edition of CGA G-4.1, Cleaning of Equipment for Oxygen Service, an internationally harmonized publication. This publication describes the cleaning methods and requirements for equipment used in the production, storage, distribution, and use of liquid and gaseous oxygen to reduce the risk of fire, explosion, or promotion of combustion. Cleaning in accordance with this publication is required for all surfaces in contact with a gas or liquid that has an oxygen concentration greater than 23.5%, including stationary storage tanks, road tankers, and rail cars; pressure vessels such as heat exchangers and distillation columns; compressors and pumps; and associated piping, valves, and instrumentation. However, the cleaning methods and requirements are not limited to this equipment.
With modifications, these methods may be used for cleaning other oxygen and oxidizer (e.g., fluorine, nitrogen trifluoride, nitrous oxide) service equipment such as cylinders, cylinder valves, cylinder regulators, welding torches, and pipelines where regulatory requirements do not specify cleaning methods.
Among other topics relevant to oxygen cleaning, this publication addresses the following:
This edition also contains examples of cleaning procedures for carbon steel piping, valves, instrumentation, and piping components, tubular heat exchangers, shop fabricated carbon steel vessels, shop fabricated cryogenic tanks, and field fabricated bulk storage tanks.
You can purchase G-4.1 on CGA’s Publication Portal.
Safety & Reliability of Industrial Gases, Equipment, & Facilities Seminar Recap
/0 Comments/in Education /by CGAThe 2018 CGA Safety and Reliability of Industrial Gases, Equipment, and Facilities Seminar was held October 16-18, in Hollywood, Florida. This is CGA’s longest first and longest running seminar, first held in 1962. This year’s seminar was chaired by Dr. John Somavarapu of American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. and managed by CGA’s Atmospheric Gases and Equipment Committee. The event attracted over 80 attendees from 14 countries including Belgium, Canada, China, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guyana, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The two and a half day program included a wide range of presentations on technical topics, lessons learned, and best practices covering topics such as compressor building safety, thermal fatigue of equipment in cryogenic service, cleaning metals for oxygen service, industrial gas underground pipeline risk management, cryogenic tanker loading safety, risk based audits, and more. The seminar also featured a history session designed to communicate the basis for current industry positions. The historical presentations, given by the industry’s leading subject matter experts, spanned a range of topics including:
Industry members’ willingness to share lessons learned, best practices, research results, and new technologies supports the air separation industry’s long history of safe operation. Seminar attendees gave the seminar an overall rating of Excellent and noted the exceptional educational value as well as the high quality of presentations and knowledge of speakers.
The next Safety & Reliability of Industrial Gases, Equipment, & Facilities Seminar will be held on October 16 – 17, 2019 in Florida. CGA also plans to hold a Specialty Gases Technical & Safety Seminar in 2019. For more information on our seminars or other educational programming, please contact us.
CGA Certification Board, LLC Holds First Exam
/0 Comments/in Certification /by CGAThe CGA Certification Board, LLC (CGACB) held its first exam on December 12, 2018, for personnel involved in the installation and maintenance of bulk compressed medical gas supply systems. Candidates who successfully completed the exam will obtain a dual certification to CGA M-1, Standard for Medical Gas Supply Systems at Health Care Facilities, and ASSE 6015, Bulk Medical Gas Systems Installers. The candidates included representatives from Airgas, Air Products and Chemicals, Matheson, and Linde North America.
The CGA M-1/ASSE 6015 Certification provides a comprehensive evaluation of a candidate’s knowledge of the process of designing, locating, installing, commissioning, maintaining, testing, removing, and documenting work on a bulk CMG supply system, including:
The certification indicates to inspectors, health care facility operators, and other stakeholders that a technician has been evaluated by an independent certification body and found to have a thorough working knowledge of applicable industry standards including CGA M-1, NFPA 99, NFPA 55, and the FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements. Candidates are also required to submit their training history and company standard operating procedure contents for review to ensure that they meet or exceed the requirements of CGA M-1 or ASSE 6015.
The CGACB is working to schedule CGA M-1/ASSE 6015 Certification exam dates and locations in 2019 based on requests from interested candidates. If you are interested in obtaining the certification and would like to suggest a location or get more information about the 2019 schedule, please contact the CGA Certification Board, LLC.
New U.S. TAG for ISO/TC 158, Analysis of Gases
/0 Comments/in International Harmonization /by CGACGA is taking on the administration of a new U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG), for International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/Technical Committee (TC) 158, Analysis of gases. ISO/TC 158 operates under the following scope:
Standardization in the field of analysis of gases, including terminology; preparation of gas mixtures; sampling; transfer lines; and analytical methods including evaluation of characteristics of the analyzers. Subjects falling within the scope of any other ISO TC (e.g. ISO/TC 28, ISO/TC 146, or ISO/TC 193) are excluded, unless specifically requested.
ISO/TC 158 is currently responsible for 24 published ISO standards and has nine ISO standards under development or revision. Five working groups (WGs) and one joint working group (JWG) are responsible for the TC’s work program. Additional information about this TC is available on ISO’s website.
Membership on this new U.S. TAG is open to U.S. national interested parties who might reasonably be expected to be, or who indicate that they are, directly and materially affected by the TC’s work. Requests for membership on the U.S. TAG shall include a completed application (available here). The TAG membership will elect the Chair at its first meeting.
CGA is also an ANSI-Accredited Administrator for the following six U.S. TAGs:
• ISO/TC 58, Gas cylinders
• ISO/TC 58/SC 2, Cylinder fittings
• ISO/TC 58/SC 3, Cylinder design
• ISO/TC 58/SC 4, Operational requirements for gas cylinders
• ISO/TC 197, Hydrogen technologies
• ISO/TC 220, Cryogenic vessels
Contact CGA for more information on any of the U.S. TAGs listed above.
Now Available: CGA Acetylene Webinar Series
/0 Comments/in Education /by acscreativeThis exciting new series features presentations from industry experts, available on-demand for your convenience.
Nitrous Oxide Facts
/0 Comments/in Safety Information /by acscreativeNitrous oxide (N2O) is a clear, colorless, oxidizing liquefied gas with a slightly sweet odor. The product is stable at room temperature. We discuss the facts about N2O in this article.