Traditional hydroblasting isn’t just dangerous — it’s deadly. At 20,000 to 40,000 psi, a water jet can slice through skin, muscle, and bone in an instant. These aren’t minor cuts — they’re trauma-level injuries comparable to gunshots, often resulting in amputations or fatalities. One slip, one misfire, and the consequences are catastrophic. Even with full PPE, operators face serious risks from flying debris, ricochet injuries, and the violent force of the blast itself.

And the danger doesn’t stop at the nozzle. The washpad is a minefield of hazards: slick, wet concrete that turns every step into a slip risk; tangled hoses and power cables waiting to trip a tired worker; and the constant presence of contaminated water, chemicals, and noise. Add in relentless vibration and jet noise, and you've got a perfect storm for injury, illness, or long-term hearing damage — unless every precaution is in place, every minute of the shift.

The refinery washpad during turnaround is one of the most chaotic, high-risk zones onsite — even without considering the hydroblasting itself.

It's a congested mess of heavy parts, high-traffic movement, slippery surfaces, poor visibility, and overlapping work. Heat exchanger bundles, valves, and piping spools are constantly being craned in, dropped off, shifted, or staged for cleaning — often with minimal coordination. Add in runoff water, oily residues coating every surface, and the roar of hydroblasting equipment from all sides, and you've got a pressure-cooker environment where one small misstep can trigger an incident.

It's not just wet and loud — it's logistically unstable, under time pressure, and too often treated as a dumping ground instead of a controlled workspace.