Description: In July of 2009, TIS was mobilized to Albuquerque, New Mexico to de-gas and clean a 45-foot diameter fuel storage tank with an external floating roof (EFR) used for low-lead Aviation Gasoline (Avgas).
TIS accessed the top of the EFR under confined space permit to remove numerous dead pigeons. Personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by the entrants consisted of full face air purifying respirators, Tyvek® protective suits, and Nitrile gloves.
After the tank was emptied of liquids and de-gassed, TIS entered the tank under confined space permit and proceeded to clean the tank, rotating two-man entry teams in and out of the tank for the duration of the job to reduce heat stress.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the confined space entrants consisted of a supplied air respirator, complete with a 5-minute escape bottle, Lakeland CRFR (Chemical Resistant Flame Retardant) protective suit, Nitrile gloves, ear plugs, hard hat with intrinsically safe head lamp, and rubber boots. A full body harness with a lifeline was worn by the entrants for emergency extraction.
Since the floating roof seal was of the foam log type, and was retaining AvGas in the foam log, it was decided that the foam log should be removed from the tank. Once all foam was removed, TIS high- pressure washed with hot water. Once the tank was clean and dry, a Lead-In-Air-test was performed and a Certification of Clean was prepared.
