Pallet fire in a combustible materials warehouse
A fire broke out at 10:15 am in a warehouse subject to authorization (item 1510 of the nomenclature of the French classified installations) at an external storage of wooden pallets. Employees are evacuated prior to the arrival of firefighters.
The economic consequences of the event are estimated at:
- 1,000 euros for material damage (destruction of 152 pallets);
- 4,500 euros for operating losses (evacuation of staff for 40 minutes).
The volume of the extinguishing water is evaluated at 50 m³. No damage to the environment is noticed by the operator [...]
51220
A 9h20, au sein d'une usine chimique, une augmentation rapide et soudaine de la température se produit dans un réacteur de fabrication d'un organomagnésien de 4 000 l. A 9h30, le personnel présent sur l'atelier procède au noyage à l'eau du milieu réactionnel. Par précaution, le POI est déclenché et dure quelques minutes. Le milieu en cours d'hydrolyse provoque une forte ébullition. La pression dans le réacteur augmente jusqu'à [...]
Large-scale fire in a wood chip storage facility
At around 3 a.m., a deep-seated fire broke out in an outdoor 50,000 m3 woodchip storage in a waste recycling facility (24 m high, located on the facility's property line). White smoke was emitted above the urban zone and the highway. Access to the site was difficult for the firefighters because of the volume of the stack. The wind propagated the flames. An expert specialised in deep-seated fires was called upon. The CASU (the INERIS Emergency Support Unit) was asked to provide models of smoke dispersion, given the possible human consequences [...]
Early analysis of technical or organisational changes
49735
Vers 15h15, un rejet de chlorure de vinyle monomère (CVM - substance cancérigène, mutagène, reprotoxique) se produit dans une usine de fabrication de matières plastiques de base.
Vers 14h50, suite au déclenchement de l'alimentation électrique principale du site et au défaut de basculement sur le secours électrique 20 kV, les groupes diesel de secours démarrent afin d'alimenter les installations de secours et de contrôle-comma [...]
Leakage of ethylene under pressure in a petrochemical complex
Damaged compressor : dual-stage compressor compressing ethylene from 3 to 33 bar. It operates alternately with the main compressor. On the day of the accident, it had been in operation for 43 days since its last maintenance five months prior. It was located next to two other compressors (Nos. 2 and 3). The latter two had been shut down and automatically isolated upon activation of the gas detectors, which was not the case for the damaged compressor No. 1, which had to be isolated manually from the control room.
In a petrochemical complex, a [...]
Explosions within a warehouse containing hazardous substances
> 173 fatalities
> Destruction of civil infrastructure within a 1-km radius
> Cyanide pollution
> Site rehabilitation
Fire broke out at 10:50 pm at the site of a logistics company, operating since 2011 in the Tianjin port sector with a floor area covering 46,000 m². At the time of the accident, the company had been storing on-site several types of hazardous substances: calcium carbide, toluene diisocyanate, ammonium nitrates, potassium and sodium, as well as 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide.
As fire-fighters were attacking the blaze with water, 2 expl [...]
Explosion of a tank of alcohol in a vinegar factory under development
In a 3,000 m² vinegar factory, a 150 m³ tank containing 40 m³ of alcohol vinegar exploded at around 9:40 a.m. while undergoing welding work. The tank, measuring 13 m in height and 4 m in diameter, was projected like a missile. It flew through the roof and landed 80 m from the building, on the Nîmes-Grau du Roi railway line. The emergency rescue services took 2 injured employees to the hospital, one of whom had been badly burned. Rail traffic was interrupted. The spilt alcohol was collected in the holding tank. The building adjoining the [...]