Document Rpre9nMvGDREBpQ5JYeK8zZra

Et h y l Ga s o l i n e Co r po r a t i o n Ch r y s l e r B u il d in g 4 0 3 Le x in g t o n Av e n u e N e w Yo r k (Q ~ i o - JL, t 0 )4 - "3 fv--- LA^^nJ /l/l* ' < ^ j 24 ( \2o ^ 4 <x___<i * - i/W^_L, ^ cu p (2^Jc m)->- Q jJh . , /(jA n J^JL A * -- C ^--3 ' THE TANK CLEANING PROBLEM Stv Since th e growth to m ajor p ro p o rtio n s of th e tank cleaning in s p e c tio n a c t i v i t y , many u n fo re se e n a n g le s have p re s e n te d th e m se lv e s. The a c t i v i t y haa become f a r l a r g e r then was a t f i r s t a n t i c i p a t e d . I t has s n c ro s c h e c , in many c a s e s , on tim e which f i e l d r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s s i g h t have been g iv in g to t h e i r norm al s a le s p r o je c ts . M oreover, i t has become an extrem ely expensive a f f a ir . !lo one ho i s f a m i l i a r w ith th e re a so n s f o r th e program ana who a p p r e c ia te s th e trem endous v a lu e t o o u r company or t h i s p re v e n tiv e e f f o r t w i l l begrudge f o r a moment e i t h e r th e tim e o r th e money. M oreover, th e re a r e few o f u s who q u e s tio n th e need f o r i n d e f i n i t e c o n tin u a tio n o f t h i s work w ith u n re la x e d v i g i l a n c e . I?e s h o u ld , how ever, examine p e r io d ic a l ly the cu rren t s ta tu e o f th e program, review what i t has accom plished, end determ ine h a t i t s fu tu re course i s to be and *hat improvements might be sac. from e f f i c i e n c y and economy s ta n d p o in ts . A t p r e s e n t th e ta n k c le a n in g in s p e c tio n work- i s b ein g c a r r ie d on s u b s t a n t i a l l y in t h e seme way in which i t s a s s t a r t e d . T h is c o n s is ts o f e d u c a tio n a l and m is sio n a ry e f f o r t s among n o t i f i c a t i o n ana a u th o r ity men, coupled w ith a c tu a l in sp e c tio n throughout each c le a n in g . The re p o rts covering th e v ario u s c a lls and in sp ectio n s are reviewed a t th e d iv isio n h e a d q u a rte rs *and a r e c a r e f u l l y s tu d ie d ana c o o rd in a te d i n t h e 3e* 2 o rk O ffic e . T h is method has proven q u ite e a tis f e c to r y gad i s e n tir e ly th o r ough and e f f ic ie n t. A netw ork o f c o n ta c ts ha.- been b u ilt up end hunured of f r i s n o l y end co o p erativ e re la tio n e r i t h our custom er companies have been e sta b lis h e d . kh a r e s u lt th e number of ta n k c lean in g s in sp ec te d ir n e a rly th e a se a s th e number o c cu rrin g . Our e ffo rt'- have brought th e ieaced gasoline tank hazard fo rcib ly to the a tte n tio n of gasoline su p p liers. Conformance to our suggestions, h as in e v ita b ly caused v tremendous improve ment in g aso lin e teak cleaning, technique throughout th e in cub t r y . Moreover o u r campaign ha;-, r e s u l t e d in th e p u rc h a se and p ro p e r m ain ten an ce o f s u i t a b le ta n k c le a n in g s a f e ty equipm ent by n e a rly a l l perso n , anu firm*. engaged in th is ork. fcafety m eetinga ana p erso n al c a lls have served to improve th e g a fe ty -s in d e d n e s s o f o i l company e x e c u tiv e s g e n e ra lly . The c o s t o f t h i s mor*. to th e E th y l G a so lin e C o rp o ra tio n hae been' very l a r g e , n o t o n ly in money bu t a ls o in m an-hours. Had th e e x p e n d itu re been tw ice or th re e tim es as la rg e , i t soulc s t i l l have teen thoroughly j u s t i f i e d in th e lig h t of th e r e a lly rem arkable re s u lts o b ta in e d . fie sh o u ld now c o n s id e r th e f e e A b ility o f u t i l i s i n g th e accom plishm ents o f th e campaign as a p o ssib le means o f seducing th e ex p en d itu re w ithout jeop a rd iz in g . in any *ay th e continued sa fe ty of sen engaged in tank clean in., sork. I t has been p o in ted out th a t th e tan k clean in g campaign nas c r e a te d an in c r e a s e d sa fe ty -m in d e d n e ss among g a s o lin e s u p p l i e r s , th a t i t has c re sts d en understanding o f th e scope ana c h a ra c te r of th e lead hazard in tan k c le a n in g , th a t i t has been th e means o f im proving g a so lin e tan k d e a n ia g technique g e n e ra lly , and th a t i t has been in tru m en ta l in ob ta in in g proper and v e il cared fo r safety equipment fo r most tank clean in g crew s. These b e n e fic ia l improvements a re ao re a p t to be permanent in th e o rg a n iz a tio n s o f o u r la r g e c u sto m e rs, commonly r e f e r r e d to a s th e "m ajor" com panies. I t i s a ls o lik e ly th a t th ese companies carry cu t the m ajority o f tank clean in g work, because th e ir a p p ro p ria tio n s fo r care end a a in tenaace of equipment a re g e n erally la rg e . Also the ow nership ana co n tro l of & very larg e percentage of the country's gasoline storage f a c ilitie s is v ested in th i^ so -c alle d m ajor group, p a r t s e n t s u n d er th e le a d e r s h ip o f a b le end c o n s c ie n tio u s s e n . Some o f them a r e implemented w ith c o n sid e ra b le a u th o rity and a r e esepoweree to e x e rc is e r ig id c o n tro l over th e methods used f o r c a rry in g o u t herardous work. I f p ro p e rly educated on th e s u b je c t o f th e le a d h a z a rd in tank c le a n in g , and i f p ro p e rly coapo.- ed codes o f p ro c e d u re were a d o p ted by them , ouch com panies aould be p e rfe c tly capable of preventing th e occurrence o f accid en ts re s u ltin g from re s id u a l le a d in g aso lin e sto rag e tanks One o f th e reasons- f o r th e i n i t i a l i n s t i t u t i o n o f o u r p r e s e n t method o f procedure was t h a t the p o te n tia lity o f th e le a d h a z a rd , and in many c a s e s i t s v e ry e x is t a n c e , was n o t re c o g n iz e d by th e owners o f g a s o lin e s to r a g e equipm ent. U n t i l th e c h a r a c te r o f th e haasarc. and th e means o f com batting and e lim in a tin g i t could be an aly se d , and a thorough knowledge c irc u la te d throughout the in d u stry , i t n a tu ra lly f e l l to the E thyl G asoline C orporation, fo r hum anitarian reasons as w ell as fo r the protec tio n o f i t s own good name, to u n d e rta k e w h atev er s te p s w ere needed to p re v e n t th e o c c u rre n c e and re c u rre n c e o f a c c id e n ts from t h i s s o u rc e . When o u r ta n k c le a n in g a c t i v i t y d as i n i t i a t e d few , i f a n y , o i l company s a f e ty o r d e r s , end p ro b a b ly no se m i-p u b lic codes (tu c h a s t h a t is s u e d by th e API) reco g n ised th e e x ista n c e of a h azard from re s id u a l le a d in th e c lea n ing of gasoline storage tanks. Sporadic cases of w ell defined lead in to x ic a tio n o ccu rred and would probably have m u ltip lie d ra p id ly w ith th e in c re a se in leaded g aso lin e gallonage had *e n o t taken immediate and d rastic action. The p re sen t s itu a tio n , however, i t a v ery d if f e r e n t one. A m a jo rity o f th o s e o i l com panies which make u* o f a fo rm al s a f e ty code have incorporated th e re in adequate in stru c tio n fo r p ro tectio n a g ain st lead h a za rd . ThOe which have n o t y e t re v is e d t h e i r codes could probably be Ui h e p e rsu a d e d t o do s o . A new API cod ( s h o r t l y to bs is s u e d ) i l l be so com posed. a s to c o v er th e le a d d a n g er th o ro u g h ly . Our own ta n k c le a n in g f i e l d 002296 c o o p eratio n . C ertain companies would probably improve so re re p iu ly i f aads wholly resp o n sib le fo r the proper p ro te c tio n of th e ir employees, end thu:; were fo rced to depend to a le s s e r e x te n t upon our f ie ld o b serv ers and on E th y l G asoline C o rp o ratio n equipm ent. I t haii been m entioned above t h a t th e r a t h e r s t a r t l i n g in c r e a s e in bank c le a n in g n o t i f i c a t i o n s in aany o f o u r D iv isio n s ha* made i t n eces sa ry to im p ress many s a le a r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s in to t h i s o rk , o fte n f o r ex ten d ed p e rio d s . Thus th e tan k clean in g work has prevented tn e i n i t i a t i o n of p ro je c ts th a t ^ould have required the u n in terru p ted a tte n tio n of fie ld s e n . Up to now t h i s s o r t o f th in g has been an u n f o r tu n a te n e c e s s i t y . I f i t i s po. s i b l s t o work o u t some meant o f s im p lify in g o u r h a re oi th e problem , th e C o rp o ra tio n w i l l b e n e f it by b e in g a b le to r e - d i r e c t th e e f f o r t s of th e f ie ld s ta f f in to normal channels. A nother problem in connection r i t h th e tank clean in g work, p ar t ic u la r ly th a t p o rtio n o f i t which has to do w ith th e a c tu a l o b serv atio n and in s p e c tio n work on. th e jo b i t s e l f , nu-.t be re c o g n is e d . In s p i t e o f th e unquestioned im portance of f ie ld in sp ectio n and the occasional need fo r prompt a c ti o n end *ounc ju d g em en t, th e b u lk o f such work i s monoto u s to a d eg ree, and fre q u e n tly demands l i t t l e o r n o th in g o f th e in s p e c to r except h ie p resen ce, buch work ra p id ly becomes irksom e to a te c h n ic a lly tra in e d man accustom ed t o a c tio n and to work demanding th e u s e o f h is knowledge and s k i l l . There a re in d ic a tio n s th a t t h i s d if f ic u l ty i s a lre a d y making i t s e l f f e l t in some q u a r t e r s , and we c e r t a i n l y sh o u ld g o a n y th in g we can to p rev en t i t s growth to la rg e p ro p o rtio n s in th e n e x t few y e a rs . Should t h i s h appen, and sh ould we f in d o u rs e lv e s w ith a ro u p o f unhappy and d i s s a t i s f i e d people on o u r s t a f f , i t would be too l a t e to no a n y th in g e f f e c tiv e ab o u t i t . M oreover, i t would ap p ear to be poor economy to use c o m p a ra tiv e ly w e ll p a id men, many o f the-; w ith u n i v e r s i t y t r a i n i n g , f o r work o f t h i s s o r t in d e f i n i t e l y , i f any s a tis f a c to r y a l t e r n a t e could be What, th e n , cen be done? A se rio u s hasard in th e c lea n in g o f tanks th a t have been u.ed fo r the blending o r storage of gasoline tre a te d w ith te tr a e th y l lead w ill e x is t so long a? such gaso lin e is m anufactured and d is trib u te d . The seasonal neea to change th e product in tanks a t bulk term in als, the normal accum ulation of re sid u e , and the p e rio d ic need f o r r e p a i r end in s p e c tio n *111 alw ays make i t n e c e s s a iy f o r men to e n te r tan k s from tim e to tim e . Much work h as been done on to e developm ent o f methods and equipm ent d e sig n e e to make p o s s ib le th e c le a n in g o f ta n k a , p a rtic u la rly the sm aller s is e s , w ithout need fo r toe a c tu a l entrance of men. U n fo rtu n a te ly much - t i l l rem ain- to be none b e fo re a th o ro u g h ly s a tis f a c t o r y means i s developed. E x c e lle n t m ethoat o f m echanical v e n tila t i o n have often d ev elo p ed in th e l a s t s e v e r a l y e a r s , b u t, w h ile such devices shorten tank clean in g jobs and le sse n the danger, they do n o t and can n o t e lim in a te th e n e e a f o r men to e n te r ta n k s o c c a s io n a lly . There i s , however, one method th a t m ight serv e to le .s e n toe C o r p o r a tio n 's tank, c le a n in g in v e stm e n t and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . T h at i s by tak in -, advantage of th e e d u ca tio n a l work th a t has been none anu o f th e a c companying improvem ent i n te c h n iq u e end eq uipm ent, by tu rn in g o v e r th e a c tu a l re s p o n s ib ility of f ie ld in sp ec tio n end su p erv isio n to c e rta in "major" companies th a t are capable Of handling i t ana th a t can be depended upon to c a riy on ad eq u ately and c o n s c ie n tio u s ly . I t i s n o t claim ed th a t such a t r a n s i t i o n can be made suddenly o r even w ith in any s p e c if ie d p e rio d . A fo u n d atio n of m utual un d erstan d in g and agreem ent woula have uo be e sta b l i s h e d . Any company w ith which th e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y wait t o be sh a re d would neea to have n o t only a su ita b le code but a lso an orgatsiisation so arranged a e t o im plem ent th e coas th ro u g h w ell t r a in e d f i e l d in s p e c to r s anc. ta n k c le a n in g crew s. Much p r e p a r a to r y ground work would hav e to be done by our sa fe ty s ta f f in co lla b o ratio n with th a t of the custom er. I t i s b e lie v ed th a t ouch & program could be s ta r te d w ith a a e rie s o f p e rso n ! c a l l s by ona o f o u r N, 1 , s t a f f men on a s e le c te d group o f o u r la rg e r custom ers. A ll phases of the problea should be discussed and an ex p re s sio n of opinion so lic ite d as to w hether th e custom er would be w illin g to assume the burden. I f he would, a l l codes sac s a fe ty o rd ers should be carefu lly studied to delerain th e ir adequacy. A delegation of re sp o n sib ility \' should be made and s u ita b le t r a i n i n g g iv e n . F in a lly a system o r re c o rd s should be placed in u se so th a t p ro p er and com plete tank h i s to r ie s would be m aintained. I t is not the in ten tio n of th is suggestion to stop a l l tank clean in g com m unication betw een o u r company and any c u sto m er. On th e c o n tr a r y , f r e q u e n t v i s i t s sh o u ld be made on th o s e p e rso n s in th e cu sto m er company to 'rhoai r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r s u p e rv is io n and m aintenance o f re c o rd s h a s been d e le g a ted . A ctu ally th e only change wouid c o n s is t in a s h if tin g o f th e f i e l d In s p e c tio n from o u r o r g a n is a tio n t o t h a t u f th e cu-corner. An u n d e rs ta n d in g would have to e x i s t to th e e f f e c t t h a t any r e la x a tio n o f v i g ila n c e on th e p a rt o f th e custom er would sake n e c e ssa ry a r e in c ta t a e n t of th e p re s e n t m ethod. F or th e tim e b e in g , a t l e a s t , we sh o u ld c o n tin u e o u r p r e s e n t s e r v i c e unchanged f o r any cu sto m er who s p e c i f i c a l l y r e q u e s ts i t . I f th ese id eas are thought to be a t a l l m e rito rio u s, i t is sug g e s te d t h a t th e d e t a i l s be worked o u t and a t r i a l made w ith one la r g e custom er ouch a s The T exas Company oaf one o f th e "Standard** g ro u p s. T here a r e n e c e s s a r ily any sm ell r e f i n e r s and c o n tr a c to r s who have o r g a n is a tio n s co lo o e s ly k n i t , o r who have no s a f e ty p e rs o n n e l w h a tev e r, t h a t we would n e v e r w ish to g iv e th e r e a p o n s ib li ty f o r c a r r y in g on w ith o u t n o t i f i c a t i o n and o b s e r v a tio n by a member o f o u r own s t a f f . I t la f u r t h e r reco g n ised th a t no such p o lic y a., t h a t o u tlin e d h e re in :.hould o r w ill con- tl^ b u te to th e lessen in g or cessatio n of th is C orporation*s in te re s t or v ig ila n c e in connection w ith th e cleaning of leaded gasoline storage tanka. I t h a s a s i t s g o a l m erely such s a v in g s i n money and m an-hours aa may p ro p e rly be effected a& a logical result of the very large investaent in, sno the e x c e lle n t r e s u lts o f, our capeign so f a r . \ % K 0022971