Chemical Safety Alert: Hazards of Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) Operations (0.25 MB) (PDF)
On August 29, 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) jointly issued “Hazards of Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) Operations”. This document aims to prevent chemical accidents by raising awareness among facilities, workers, and emergency responders of the hazards associated with Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) operations - a process used in refining crude oil.
DCU operations are among the most hazardous in the refinery. Unlike other types of petroleum refinery operations, the DCU involves both batch and continuous operations. The batch stage of the operation, which involves drum switching and coke cutting, presents unique hazards and is responsible for most of the serious accidents attributed to DCUs.
The document includes lessons learned and examples of actions that can be taken to help minimize risks associated with the situations and conditions that are most likely to cause accidents.
This alert can be viewed on the EPA website: Hazards of Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) Operations (0.25 MB) (PDF). Additional Alerts are available on the EPA's Preventing Chemical Accidents page.