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PERC Safety

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Copper: gas services lines to homes. Soil: clay, shale, mud, large rocks. ... Electric Currents: a.c & d.c from poorly grounded homes. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: PERC Safety

1
PERC Safety Training Webinar

Cathodic Protection Program

2
Cathodic Protection Webinar Presenters

Stuart Flatow
PERC Vice President, Safety Training.
Email stuart.flatow_at_propanecouncil.org.
Hans Schmoldt
NACE certified Cathodic Protection Specialist.
Over 30 years of experience.
Subject matter expert for PERC Cathodic
Protection training video.
Email hans_at_anodesystems.com.
Bruce Swiecicki, P.E.
Senior Technical Advisor of NPGA.
Sits on the NFPA Technical Committee that writes
NFPA 58.
Email bswiecicki_at_npga.org.

3
Basics of Corrosion

Corrosion is an aggressive form of rusting.
Bad environment.
wet ground containing natural or man-made
chemicals accelerates the rusting process.
Corrosion causes structural problems, such as
pits or holes in the steel.
These holes can cause propane to leak, which in
turn may migrate to a crawl space or basement,
causing a very dangerous situation.

4
15 Causes of Underground Propane Tank Corrosion

Water snow, rain, irrigation, groundwater.
Fertilizer ammonia, sulfur, nitrates.
Salt road sidewalk, water softener.
Magnesium Chloride for road dust ice.
Oxygen forms iron oxide.
Copper gas services lines to homes.
Soil clay, shale, mud, large rocks.
Backfill pyrite in sand gravel.

5
15 Causes of Underground Propane Tank Corrosion

Mine Tailings corrosive chemicals acids.
Drain Fields bleach, detergent, salt, wastes.
Electric Currents a.c d.c from poorly
grounded homes.
Bacteria Anaerobic bacteria in oxygen poor
mud creates sulfuric acid. Aerobic bacteria feed
on petroleum based coatings.
Lightning goes to a tank via a copper pipe.
Corrosive Minerals pyrite graphite.
Urine salt/ammonia from pets livestock.

6
Examples of Corrosion
7
Examples of Corrosion
8
Examples of Corrosion
9
Principles of Cathodic Protection

Cathodic Protection will make a steel propane
tank and piping immune to corrosion.
This is done by turning the tank into a cathode.
A cathode is an electrical engineering term given
to any metal protected by an anode. The metal
receives electrons from an anode in a corrosion
cell reaction to ward off oxidization.

10
Methods to Achieve Cathodic Protection

Two methods used.
Magnesium anodes (Sacrificial Anodes).
Impressed current using power from the local
electric utility company.
An Anode is oxidized and consumed as it corrodes,
while giving up its elections to a cathode.
A bar, rod, or ingot of magnesium or zinc
connected to a steel tank or pipe to provide
protection. Anodes produce electrical current
and gradually waste away.
Impressed current systems work by using current
from the electric utility and use silicon iron
anodes.

11
Tank-to-Soil Potential Tests

First, if the ground is dry where youre going
to take readings, moisten it with water.
Set voltmeter on the 2 volt DC or the 20 volt DC
scale.
Connect the voltmeter to the tank, with the
positive lead connected to the multivalve and the
negative lead to the copper electrode.
Do this at the multivalve, rather than the dome.

12
Tank-to-Soil Potential Tests

Stick the tip of the electrode into the ground
where it has been moistened.
Take your reading and record your data,
according to your company policy.
Repeat the process on the opposite side of the
dome, and then at both ends of the tank.
It is important to take FOUR tank-to-soil
potential readings around a tank, in order to get
a complete picture of the cathodic protection
level.
Areas of the tank that have readings above -0.85
volts are protected, while a reading below -0.85
is not protected.

13
Troubleshooting and Retrofitting
When a reading at an existing installation is
zero, youll have to do some troubleshooting.
The following is a laundry list of things to
check when troubleshooting

Start with the voltmeter. Is it on?
Is the battery good?
Have you taken off the rubber boot on the copper
sulfate electrode?
Have you set the voltmeter switch to the d.c.
volt scale?
Have you connected one lead wire to the copper
sulfate electrode?
Have you connected the other lead wire to the
multivalve securely?
Does your copper sulfate electrode have a blue
liquid in it?
Have you set the electrode firmly on the ground?
Have you poured a glass of water on the ground if
the ground is dry?
Are your lead wires and their connections good?

14
11 Objections to Installing Anodes

The ground is not corrosive.
I dont like being forced to buy anodes.
Ive never had a problem in the past.
How do I know they work?
Why bother? Im retiring soon.
My U/Gs look like new when dug up.
The tanks come with a coating.
NFPA 58 doesnt mandate anodes.
My margins are too small to add anodes.
The competition doesnt install anodes.
The state doesnt require anodes or they dont
test for them.

15
8 Reasons Cathodic Protection is Good Business

It can save lives.
It is cheap insurance should a corrosion cell
exist. It could prevent an incident that would
cost many hours and dollars to resolve.
It provides peace of mind and eliminates worrying
about whether or not corrosion will cause a
corrosion leak.
State by state, regulators are beginning to
require cathodic protection on ugs as a
requirement for liability insurance coverage for
the marketer.
It reduces the risk of a leak and potential
property damage to an expensive investment in
property.
It increases the resale value of the property.
It protects the tank if the coating breaks down,
where the coating is damaged, where weld spatter
and embedded steel shot protrudes through the
coating.
Its a selling point when the marketer sells the
business or passes it down to younger family
members.

16
Cathodic Protection Manual

Contains training materials for propane techs who
install residential and small commercial
underground ASME tanks and piping.
Provides basic knowledge and requirements to
properly and efficiently provide cathodic
protection for underground steel ASME tanks and
piping from corrosion.
Includes a quiz, with answer key and a skills
evaluation form.
Available in a CD DVD kit, as well as a Manual
DVD kit.
To order the PERC Cathodic Protection materials,
please go to www.propanecatalog.com, or call
866-905-1075.

17
www.propanesafety.com

Visit www.propanesafety.com.
Website includes a PDF of the complete Cathodic
Protection Manual.

18
NFPA Updates

New text appears in Annex K of NFPA 58-2008
Burial and Corrosion Protection for Underground
and Mounded Containers
Inspection of Container prior to burial
Dielectric couplings should be used to isolate
the container from piping when using metallic
piping
Avoid using backfill material that can damage the
container

19
NFPA Updates

NPGA Proposing New Text for NFPA 58-2010 (will
apply to underground and mounded containers)
5.2.1.10 ASME containers either mounded,
installed underground or partially underground,
shall be coated with a material recommended for
the service and applied in accordance with the
coating manufacturers instructions.
6.6.6.1 (H) Cathodic protection shall be
installed on metal underground containers.

20
NFPA Updates

NPGA Proposing New Text for NFPA 58-2010 (will
apply to underground and mounded containers)
(I) Prior to burial, the container shall be
visually examined for damage to the coating.
Damaged areas shall be repaired with a coating
recommended for underground service and
compatible with the existing coating.

21
STAC Cathodic Protection Taskforce