P.E. Myers: About the Author
Chevron Research & Technology Co.

Recently an unnecessary financial incident was caused as a result of an inadequate tank inspection and failure to recognize the hazards of rain entering leaking fixed roofs of storage tanks. A bolted bladder tank upgrade was scoped for miscellaneous repairs including a bladder replacement. The terminal requested a tank inspection but limited the inspection to only certain accessible portions of the tank. The job was then scoped and cost estimated. Later additional funds had to be allocated to fix unanticipated problems that the inspection failed to reveal. These problems included severe internal corrosion of the bladder ring and the entire second course, which now must be replaced, but which was unanticipated after the tank had been inspected and the job cost estimated.

<p>This case study is an example of an incident that started with a routine API 653 inspection and resulted in a very difficult repair to a tank bottom contaminated with hydrocarbons on the underside. This case highlights the potential risks with performing tank inspections and the consequences of poor inspection practices.</p>