Shoddy Practices

 

From Austest to bad-test

Prior to the company takeover by Fabian Lyons & Peter Nelson, the original company – Austest – was conducting NDT consultations all over PNG using the following techniques

• ultrasonic testing
• magnetic particle inspection
• dye penetrant inspection
• pipeline coat-&-wrap inspection
• visual inspections of various types

these were all done diligently to the relevant Australian Standards

When the takeover occurred & Austest became Pacific Testing Services, one major technique was added; radiographic inspection using a live source of iridium 192. This had not been seriously considered by Austest as, along with all the inherent dangers of keeping /transporting/using a dangerous radioactive source, it also required a facility for the processing of the x-ray films produced during inspections

Back in the old days, before the introduction of automatic processing machines, all the x-ray films were developed by hand; & some of it still is. There are strict guidelines as to the temperature of the processing chemicals & the actual development environment, 20 degrees C (give or take a degree or two) is required in order that the chemicals will perform their function for which they were designed & to the required standards. A constant flow of fresh cold water is also required to the wash-bath at the end of the processing cycle & between stages. The room must be completely light-proofed with only approved darkroom lights used; in short – a purposely constructed environment !

Fabian Lyons & Peter Nelson used the smallest of the bedrooms in the apartment, which had no air conditioning unit & so was usually over 30 degrees Centigrade, was not light-proofed & had no running water

The processing of the x-ray films would be done at night so as to minimise the risk of light-leaks spoiling the developed film. All the windows were blocked out with cardboard & duct tape & the remaining office lights turned off; there was a darkroom light hanging in the corner. The stainless steel 5-gallon (about 20 litres) processing tanks were stacked on the wooden single bed frame (minus the mattress) & arranged in the usual order: developer, stop bath, fixer & wash-bath; but of course, there was no running water for the wash-bath. In order to lower the temperature of the chemicals, several bags of ice were purchased from a local petrol station & added to the chemicals just before processing, however this only lowered the temperature by a few degrees, nowhere near that required by Australian Standards.

Ideally, the developed, fixed, & washed films would be dried in an approved cabinet dryer or at least hung from a line in an air-conditioned environment; this was not possible

Enter Lady Remington

Instead of either method, the films remained in their processing frames which were hung in a carboard box – the box dimensions needed to be close enough to allow the frame edges to hang over the sides with the film holders in the middle. A hole was put in the bottom of the cardboard box to allow access for the – yes, the Lady Remington hair dryer, which supplied the hot air at a low speed so as not to burn out the motor. A large plastic bag over the top sealed the environment

Ingenious? Yes. Reliable? No. Standard-compliant/legal? No.

Within the filing cabinet of discarded documents is a company quality control manual, required of all NDT companies & always requested by a NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities) audit. Inside this QC manual is a list of equipment & although absolutely no mention of this PNG darkroom, someone had inadvertently added the Lady Remington to the list of other NDT inspection apparatus, power leads & office equipment. View on the link below

open excerpt

And as for the used chemicals, the 5-gallon tanks were pushed to the bathroom & poured into the bath, no environmentally friendly disposal here

The viewing of the processed films was also controlled, requiring low background lighting, viewing aids, et cetera, et cetera; this was also lacking. The x-ray films were eventually sent to Australia where they could be viewed properly, but by that time the welded joint to which they referred had been accepted or rejected, & even if it was still accessible, going back to the client with a “sorry but we missed defective weld” would never look good. The Kanudi Power Plant, constructed & inspected during this time, could be a ticking bomb !

The construction company in charge of the project was Korean heavy industries company Hanjung, & is just one example of many who received sub-standard inspection services

 

Safety concerns

There was usually only one person resident in the PNG office/apartment & he would do the processing alone. At 35°C & without air, just by expecting employees to work in this room was neglectful enough, let alone in the presence of copious quantities of developing & fixing chemicals in 20-litre stainless steel processing tanks. Prematurely opening the bedroom door to escape (if overpowered by the fumes), would let in light & cause the ruin of an entire day’s work !

The MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for the developer used clearly states to use only in a well-ventilated area with 10 to 12 room changes of air per hour minimum; but as mentioned, that room did not have an air-conditioner & the windows were taped shut

Another example of the attitude of these employers to safety is that no personal radiation recording devices were ever issued. These ‘film badge dosimeters’ must legally be worn by all people involved in the use of x-ray machines & live (radiation) sources & record the exact amount of radiation that a person receives during the handling of this dangerous equipment. They are then sent to a special facility that processes them & returns the dose received; small doses are expected & deemed acceptable but more that the threshold & the employee will be prevented from working in this field for a period of time, e.g., 6 months. These potentially lifesaving devices were promised but never issued

Link to Wikipedia article on dosimeters