Pipeline integrity require the operator or person responsible for the operation to define their risk-based operation and maintenance plans and programs. The ASME B31.8S code specifies that operators must safely and reliably deliver natural gas to their customers without adverse effects on employees, the population, customers, or the environment. Estimating the probability of failure, consequences, and risk allows the operator to establish strategies for risk mitigation and management (ASME, B31.8S). The different threats that can individually or in combination affect the integrity of aboveground, buried, or submerged gas pipelines have been defined. Based on reported incidents on gas pipelines worldwide, the Pipeline Research Committee International (PRCI) analyzed and classified 22 root causes, which represent the most common threats to the integrity of pipelines and facilities. Because the presence of dust is not currently defined as a direct threat, being rather a consequence of some previous process, it could be included as part of the threat of corrosion and/or erosion, equipment failures, and/or incorrect procedures during construction, operation, and maintenance. For the DOT (US Department of Transportation), it is not classified as a specific hazard class either; however, its presence in gas pipelines could affect the overall hazard classification of the transported gas due to the increased risk of ignition, fires, and/or explosions. Similarly, the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) focuses on preventing risks such as explosions due to the presence of dust and ensuring worker safety, rather than on specific dust levels. In Mexico, the Mexican Official Standards (NOM) do not have specific requirements for dust management. For the purposes of this paper, dust may be composed of corrosion products, oxidation products, mechanically mixed or chemically combined with various contaminants. The presence of dust and residues in gas processing, transportation, and distribution systems has been reported and investigated by many companies, especially due to the negative consequences they can generate at different stages of the process. Dust is typically detected during internal mechanical cleaning programs, during scheduled equipment maintenance, or when problems arise in downstream equipment, such as filter blockage and collapse, instrumentation and valve obstruction, or accelerated valve deterioration due to erosion and corrosion, which drastically increase maintenance activities and, in the worst case, can lead to failures requiring partial or total system shutdown. Dust management best practices generally consist of a combination of various prevention, control, and/or removal methods collectively designed to minimize their recurrence and manage their impacts.
