Polaroid Photo in a Reactor Vessel
Circa 1989-90. I'm shielding my face from the camera in mock embarrassment as Bob strikes a goofy pose that would be revealed only as the camera strobe illuminated. Kurt took this particular shot.
It was during the night shift of the unit turnaround that this photo and others could be taken. There were longer unstructured periods of time during the night shifts. Normally when the unit is on line, this reactor vessel is filled with a certain catalyst and operates under very high pressure and temperature. In this case the vessel was completely isolated, emptied and cleaned for inspection.
I remember that Bob, Kurt and I had to climb down a temporary steel ladder that was suspended from the top opening of the vessel. I cannot recall with precision, but the descent to the bottom of this vessel where we took the photos was probably about 60 to 70 feet. You can see the type of ladder within the photo - two parallel steel bars with rungs welded between them. These days we would have had to wear a body harness with lanyard, and the single ladder probably would have been replaced with scaffolding constructed with landing platforms along the way.
Polaroid Photo in a Reactor Vessel
Circa 1989-90. I'm shielding my face from the camera in mock embarrassment as Bob strikes a goofy pose that would be revealed only as the camera strobe illuminated. Kurt took this particular shot.
It was during the night shift of the unit turnaround that this photo and others could be taken. There were longer unstructured periods of time during the night shifts. Normally when the unit is on line, this reactor vessel is filled with a certain catalyst and operates under very high pressure and temperature. In this case the vessel was completely isolated, emptied and cleaned for inspection.
I remember that Bob, Kurt and I had to climb down a temporary steel ladder that was suspended from the top opening of the vessel. I cannot recall with precision, but the descent to the bottom of this vessel where we took the photos was probably about 60 to 70 feet. You can see the type of ladder within the photo - two parallel steel bars with rungs welded between them. These days we would have had to wear a body harness with lanyard, and the single ladder probably would have been replaced with scaffolding constructed with landing platforms along the way.