Lets use our heads please.

My friend has had a shop as long as I've known him. Used to wrench for Korman out of NC.  35 years, all is well with a good following.  Only European cars, customers would follow if he left.

I stopped today and it was all hands on deck in his little business, cleaning, sweeping, Kitty Littering two bays.

Seems a Tech was grinding and sparks lit off the 350 gallon tank of waste oil.  Big BANG!  2nd-3rd degree burns on the tech, flew him to a burn unit 200 miles away. 

I have an obligation in the morning, but will be there to help clean up, he's done a lot for me.

Safety glasses, psssshhhh Bob Costas.  Really?

Sorry, this one sucks, just be aware

That's awful

Thanks for the reminder

Man, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I hope he recovers fully. 

Holy crap that sounds awful!  But it makes me wonder what the heck someone put in the waste oil tank.  Straight engine oil shouldn't be flammable enough to explode like that unless there's gas or some other flammable solvent mixed in (or the tank was very warm). 

Ya. Someone put something other than wast oil in the tank for it to go boom.  I would suspect there was another person to blame other than the guy working the grinder. Hell I would not have thought of that either. 

In reply to dean1484 :

You should. 

Running a grinder is dangerous. We take them for granted. 

I almost ripped my face off once when a battery exploded while I was leaning over it with.... yep.  A grinder. 

My company now requires hot work permits for all grinding. 

dean1484 said:

Ya. Someone put something other than wast oil in the tank for it to go boom.  I would suspect there was another person to blame other than the guy working the grinder. Hell I would not have thought of that either. 

Waste oil has gasoline in it, along with all sorts of other things.  (Like an amazing amount of water, which needs to be decanted from the tank on a regular basis)  That's rather part of why the oil was changed. 

Stick your nose over a waste oil tank's vent when it's being filled, it is quite fumey!

The only time I've experienced a batter yexplosion firsthand was when someone was grinding on something that was supported by a forklift.  The sparks went right up on the case around the huge 12v battery that powered the forklift.  And then suddenly everyone in the building was wide awake.

Yup, we had a dry fuel tank that had been empty for months do the same thing.

It only takes a second for you to screw up.

Terrible. I hope he has a full recovery. 

SVreX said:

In reply to dean1484 :

My company now requires hot work permits for all grinding. 

I'm sure you can imagine what getting a hot work permit for a hospital is like. We will remove the door panel, load it in a truck and take it off site before we try to pull one. If it's a frame problem, it just gets replaced. 

I understand anything that comes out of a car, except coolant, can go in the tank.  Every other shop I've been in, the tank is inside, sometimes tucked away in a closet, but never stored outside.

I'm sure a fire investigator or insurance rep will have suggestions, but store it outside with a receptacle inside the building?  It would just suck dragging a 5 gallon pail of oil outside and up the hill to the back of the building.  A small pump to get it from the bay to the tank outside?

I have an obligation this morning, but I'm going back afterward to help clean up, he's done a lot for me over the years and customers always want their cars back on Friday.  The floor drains were sealed off years ago, otherwise the EPA would be front & center.  He's afraid of simple green and a hose, then pushing it down the parking lot.  With so much recent attention, a rainbow running in the gutter would draw attention.  (OK, not the best idea but we're not California).

Toyman01 said:

SVreX said:

In reply to dean1484 :

My company now requires hot work permits for all grinding. 

I'm sure you can imagine what getting a hot work permit for a hospital is like. We will remove the door panel, load it in a truck and take it off site before we try to pull one. If it's a frame problem, it just gets replaced. 

Yep. I work in hospitals too. 

Tank could stay inside, but vent it outside the building and have a way to close off the fluid input port when there isn't something actively being added to the tank.  That way you get no fumes from the tank in the shop.  

In reply to 914Driver :

I’m not sure I understand. Your posts seem to have shifted from concern about the incident to questions about how to do waste storage. 

I have built a few car dealerships. I am building a 32 bay shop right now. I am familiar with the codes and guidelines for a shop and storage. I have also worked at a chemical plant and know a little bit about containment. 

First off, this is an OSHA reportable incident, and should have been reported to OSHA within 24 hours. 

As a reportable incident, the EPA impact could be higher on the radar. Water for cleanup can be controlled with dams and dikes. This may be a job for a vac truck. 

The longer term question about storage can be solved in many ways.  But there are more related questions, like is the building sprinklered, is there a containment area, etc.

Building is sprinklered.  The EPA, DEC are involved as are insurance investigators.  Someone in the loop knows what is reportable and probably has done so.

  My concerns are many sided; the incident and proper storage are only two.  People of higher authority than me have looked at the incident and do not seem overly concerned.  That could change I guess.  I'm sure my friend will revamp his storage of disposed oil if safety or codes were violated, also sure the Tech should not have been using a grinder only feet away from a tank.

Dan

When I worked as a heavy equipment mechanic our waste oil tank was in a separate building with our various new oil tanks. They were like 300-500 gallons a piece. We had a “sucker tank” on wheels that  was maybe a 100 gallons that we used to suck the used oil out of the drain pans with which we emptied once a week.

we used catch a lot of stuff on fire with the torch but never had any grinder accidents thankfully.