The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a safety advisory last month warning about the “possibility of catastrophic failure” of nurse tanks built by American Welding and Tank in Fremont, Ohio, between 2007 and 2011.
A 2009 model tank containing anhydrous ammonia failed at a farm co-op in August, causing the tank to “‘rocket’ over 300 feet from its original location,” the FMCSA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in the advisory.
While it is not required by law, the agencies strongly recommend that owners of the tanks in question conduct voluntary periodic visual inspection, thickness testing and pressure testing.
For those tank owners unable to conduct voluntary pressure testing, the federal agencies recommend either radiographic or ultrasonic testing.
“While the period of voluntary inspection and testing is at the discretion of the nurse tank owner, FMCSA and PHMSA recommend conducting the inspection and testing at least once every five years,” the advisory said.
The company’s nurse tank manufacturing practices have come under previous federal scrutiny. American Welding and Tank was ordered to pay nearly $4 million in fines in 2011 for violating federal hazardous materials safety standards by producing and selling unsafe nurse tanks.
