While performing annual preventive maintenance on a hot water boiler, an operator was scalded when water being drained from the operating boiler gushed out of a riser in an open drain pipe.

Had the valve been opened more slowly, the backup, if it occurred, would not have been so violent and the operator would not have been injured. Fortunately, the injury was relatively minor in this case.

Operators are reminded to always be aware of the consequences of opening a valve and to open valves carefully.

This article originally appeared in The Pressure News , Volume 6, Issue 3, September 2001



First published February 2002