When the forensic engineers at WHA international first heard about a liquid oxygen (LOX) valve fire at an air separation unit (ASU), they had very little information to guide the investigation.
Nobody knew how the fire began or even when it occurred. Because the internal fire quickly self-extinguished, the system could have remained in operation for months or years before the damage was discovered.
One thing was clear: the system had come dangerously close to catastrophic failure. Had the piping been breached, thousands of gallons of LOX would have drained out and flash vaporized into an area where personnel could have been present. This rapid discharge could have led to life-threatening fires, explosions of organic materials, and severe cryogenic injuries.
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