Safe & Sound

On the list of potential hazards in many industrial manufacturing and processing facilities, elevated noise levels rank near the top. The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimates that more than 22 million workers in the US alone are exposed to harmful noise levels on an annual basis.¹

LNG terminals contribute to this statistic with their wide range of inherently noisy equipment that includes air-cooled heat exchangers, piping systems, compressors, and pumps. The noise generated by this equipment typically exceeds NIOSH’s recommended exposure limit (REL) of 85 dB (as an eight-hour time-weighted average).

Plant personnel exposed to noise above the REL face serious physical and psychological problems, including tinnitus, permanent hearing loss, hypertension, and depression. High noise levels also raise the risk of accidents and can put the plant at odds with neighbouring communities by exceeding local noise ordinances and threatening the welfare and safety of nearby wildlife.

Given these threats to an LNG plant’s performance and safety, operators continue looking for reliable, cost-effective noise-reduction solutions. This article reviews a solution advanced by ROCKWOOL Technical Insulation – ProRox MA-960® with WR-Tech^TM – which leverages stone wool’s unique properties to reduce noise from pipes, vessels, and other plant equipment in LNG facilities. Not only does this new insulation reduce noise levels to below REL, but it also counters the pervasive problem of corrosion under insulation (CUI) by incorporating an advanced water-repelling technology.

Find out more in the full article available to you for free.