At 12h35, a 500 L container exploded in a cleaning room causing a fatality and one injury among personnel. The building is constituted of 2 separate rooms : 1 container cleaning room (not explosion protected) and 1 explosion-proof mixing room.

Earlier that day, the shift manager had transferred a container awaiting to be cleaned in the cleaning room. The container was clearly labelled that it could contain pentane residues and/or an explosive atmosphere and thus should have been transferred in the explosion protected room, as stipulated in the work instructions. A temporary worker (subcontractor) was told to clean the container. He consequently opened the container on the top, installed the cleaning cone, inserted the nozzle head and launched the cleaning process (using 80°C steam). The traces of liquid pentane (boiling temperature of 36°C) passed into gas phase due to the steam heating, producing a hazardous gas-vapour-air mixture and a strong smell. The subcontractor left the washing room to inform an employee who entered the room and re-activated the cleaning system, causing the explosion (VCE with ignition of the vapour cloud either by an electrical relay or a contactor (220V) in the switchgear cabinet). The 2 men were severely burned and 1 of them died at the hospital 5 days later. Material damage were extensive and reached 500 000 euros.

The enquiry showed several lacks in the safety management system : lack of Safety Analysis on incidents or deviations from the standard operative conditions, lack of procedures for handling pentane, lack of personnel training… The company carried out a full process assessment and improved its procedures for handling flammable substances.