In a pharmaceutical factory, a technician transferred four 25-kg containers and one 20-kg container of Diacetylrhein (DAR) into an empty 2000-litre reactor that had previously been rinsed with water. The DAR, packaged in a double-layered polyethylene bag that itself had been inserted into plastic barrels, spontaneously ignited (i.e. a flash) when the technician began to empty the 4th barrel. The fire was quickly extinguished with the site’s own means of protection. The technician sustained slight burns. Beyond the loss of 120 kg of DAR, no apparent property damage was recorded.
Static electricity might have caused the accident. The Inspection Authorities for Classified Facilities made any restart of installation activities contingent upon both completing an additional safety report based on an analysis of accident causes and implementing the resulting technical guidelines.
