A detonation occurred during the destruction of detonators by chemical reaction in two buckets, each containing 80 g of primary explosives. The technician poured an acidic solution into the buckets with the products awaiting destruction. The chemical reaction immediately caused heavy bubbling; the technician added water 1 minute after the operation got underway. Contents of the first bucket exploded 4 minutes later, followed by the second bucket. Six other buckets laid out in the tank and filled with other products awaiting destruction were scattered over a 50-metre radius.

The operations were conducted remotely, so the technician escaped injury. The supervisor’s mirror, the pipes and the concrete tank were all destroyed.

The operator studied the potential use of a less aggressive waste destruction agent and separated the buckets with concrete partition walls, in addition to assessing a more efficient cooling system. He wound up introducing a reaction temperature monitoring device and improved monitoring techniques (i.e. video camera).