Purging fundamentals for safety and occupational health professionals
This course focuses on the inherent dangers of the purge process in conjunction with mitigation strategies to help address those risks. This course will walk through the purge process from beginning to end addressing associated safety concerns and challenges involved in each step. The course will also walk through public and personnel safety evaluations for general purging operations to help the audience develop risk management muscle memory.
Purging in the natural gas industry is a critical safety procedure designed to ensure that pipelines, equipment, and facilities are free of flammable gases before they are put into service or maintained. According to the American Gas Association’s Purge Manual, proper purging minimizes the risk of explosions and fires by removing potentially hazardous gases from systems prior to work being performed. This process involves the intentional displacement of natural gas with an inert gas or air, allowing operators to safely manage the transition from one state to another while ensuring that any residual gas is safely vented, contained, or mitigated.