Transport Canada under the updated legislation of Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) in the late 1980's stated "Nurse or applicator tanks used to transport anhydrous ammonia on public roads must have been made to either the TC51, CTC51, DOT 51 specifications or to the ASME Pressure Vessels Code." (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
The fertilizer industry did not realize what impact this would have on nurse tanks until 1995. This TDG legislation states that all nurse tanks or applicators must be hydrostatically tested every five years. A hydrostatic test puts water in the tank at a pressure at 1.5 times the tanks designed pressure (marked on the tank plate), and is held for ten minutes. If the design pressure of the tank is 250 psi, than the water pressure would be 375 psi. All new tanks before leaving the factory are subjected to this hydrostatic test. The deadline for completion was July 1, 1996.
The Canadian fertilizer industry was very concerned, and a search was
made to find any NH3 nurse tank histories that recorded problems. We collectively
could not find any tanks that had broken open. TFIO unofficially documents
all accidents in the industry, and we could not find any tank cases that
have broken open from field use. There have been many tanks taken out of
service, because of dents etc. as a result of accidental collision with
trees, posts, etc.
TFIO did a rough audit of all the retail dealers plus farmers, and asked
for the number of tanks and the manufacture's name and date of manufacture.
Ontario started to use NH3 in the early 1950's and many of our tanks are
over 27 years old. In Ontario we have tanks that were bought in the 1950's,
most have been purchased in the 1960's and 1970's, and a few in the 1980's
and 1990's. Over 30 different manufacturers sold tanks into the Ontario
market. Many farmers called the TFIO office and were informed about this
tank registration and all farmers who called were supplied information.
In Ontario we have approximately 1,600 nurse tanks (retailers and farmers)
and use approximately 30,000 t of NH3 per year. In Western Canada they have
over 10,000 tanks and use over 600,000 t of NH3 per year. The Canadian Fertilizer
Institute in Ottawa (CFI) and the Canadian Association of Ag Retailers (CAAR)
in Winnipeg set up a Canadian Task Force and TFIO represented our Ontario
nurse tanks.
Four nurse tanks from Ontario and 14 from Western Canada were shipped to Edmonton where a metallurgical engineer cut them open. They were scientifically scrutinized by modern metal tests for stress corrosion cracking (SCC). No SCC was found in any of the 18 tanks. There was several non safety issues that were documented for future use in the manufacturing of new tanks, (e.g. baffle plates must be connected in a more secure manner).
This intensive test by the industry cost over $250,000. TFIO paid for our share by assessing a tank cost of $12 per tank. We were pleased with the cooperation of the farmers and dealers in paying their assessment for this scientific work.
1. Transport Canada has their legislation on how to function under the regulations as laid out in the Guide - Periodic Inspection and Retest of Anhydrous Ammonia Nurse Tanks". Under this program one must document that a visual inspection has been conducted in intervals not greater than every 2.5 years, and a hydrostatic test retest must be conducted at an intervals not greater than every five years. There is no cost for registering in this program, however the hydrostatic testing will cost in the $500+ area. All of the non-agricultural industries use the hydrostatic test as one of the standard tests (e.g. propane).
2. Fertilizer Industry is opposed to the hydrostatic testing in that there is no evidence to date that it will predict when a tank should be phased out. The industry has put together a program which Transport Canada has given an equivalency status. This program is called "The Ammonia Safety Council Ammonia Field Tank Program". In order to follow this program all tanks and applicators must be registered. Each tank and applicator must receive a documented visual inspection every year. Every five years the tank valves, gauges must be taken out and checked, cleaned, fixed or replaced (if needed) and documentation must be made of this activities. This industry program is more cost effective and we feel it also has more stewardship than the federal government program. The cost of being in this program is $50 fee to register your farm plus $1.50 annual fee per tank (for stickers). A new sticker is put on each year to show that the annual checkup has been completed. If you tie your tanks to a retail dealer there is no need for both of you to register as an owner.
TFIO is holding a safety controller/maintenance workshop on 97/07/23 at Mt. Elgin. All tanks owners are welcome. Cost is $50 to $75 depending on whether you need the maintenance binder. Please call TFIO for registration information.
Due to the age of the NH3 fleets in Ontario we have some nurse tanks or applicators that have either lost the manufacturer's plate or the plate is no longer legible. Duplicate plates can be obtained from the manufacturer, however most of our manufacturers are no longer in this business. TFIO is presently working with several government agencies to bring an economic solution to this challenge. TFIO will work on this challenge equally for the farmers as well as the retail tank owners.
1. Talk to your local NH3 retailer and ask him to explain the program. We are encouraging farmers to attach their tanks to local dealer's fleets.
2. Call The Fertilizer Institute of Ontario or OCPA and ask for paper package of both programs.
Once you have received the paper package you can study and elect whether you want to follow the TGD government program or the Ammonia Safety industry program. There is no mandate that you follow one program or the other, but you must adopt one. Both systems will be audited to ensure that the guidelines are being followed.
Many of our nurse tanks and applicators are 25-30 years old and we know
that steel will not last forever. By putting into place a documented annual
tank program we will be able to track our tanks. We encourage, support and
request that you follow-up on this, as it is important that we organize
our tanks fleets so that we can protect them.
Please talk to you retailer, OCPA or TFIO and obtain the paper package.
We must target to have all of our nurse tanks and applicators registered
and accounted for in Ontario.
TFIO thanks the OCPA for the opportunity to provide information on these programs to farm nurse and applicator owners.
OCPA telephone: (519) 837-1660, fax (519) 837-1674
TFIO telephone: (519) 622-4011, fax (519) 622-7566
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