In order to seal the sidewalls of a tunnel under construction, a mix of acrylamide and sodium silicate (ROCHA GIL) was employed. Injection tests were conducted in March 1997 without informing local authorities, the municipality or the region. On 24th[...]
In order to fill a lorry with phenol, an operator undertook the necessary steps but forgot to position the loading arm. The three detectors on the filling station were defective and did not indicate a flaw in the coupling manoeuvre.[...]
A 20-car convoy left a tunnel around 11:30 pm in order to cross a train station when 7 tanks carrying 80 m3 of gasoline derailed. An axle with an overheated roller bearing broke on one of the railcars. Traces on[...]
An extremely violent explosion occurred at 5:20 am inside a refinery operating normally; this blast, felt up to 30 km away, was followed by several others. The internal emergency plan was activated at 5:45 and rescue teams called to the scene.[...]
Around 4:10 pm, six people were killed by the explosion of nearly 300 tonnes of expired munitions and production wastes inside the "Steingletscher" underground storage, located on the slope of the Susten pass facing Bern. The explosion, whose TNT equivalent[...]
At around 6.30 pm, 5 t of ammonia (NH3) was released over a 15-minute period from 2 valves at a height of 8/10 m on equipment used to manufacture an ammonium nitrate solution. 4 persons located at 1,100 m to[...]
Inside a plant specialised in thio-chemistry, an explosion occurred at 9:55 am on a unit undergoing a restart procedure, less than one year after major facility modifications. Following the unintentional intake of ammonia into the oven on an acid nitrosyl[...]
An explosion perceived tens of km around and an ensuing fire destroyed 1,000 of the 4,000 m² of a hydrogen peroxide unit (H2O2) located near a series of hydrogen and chlorine tanks. The fire spread into the adjoining sewers, and[...]
An explosion occurred around 10 am in the sewer line of Mexico's second largest city amidst a metropolitan area; this blast was followed by a series of explosions between 10:30 and 11:30 am. Then very early the next morning, two[...]
A unconnected tanker truck carrying liquid ammonia (NH3) burst open at an industrial facility. Propelled by chemical reaction, with the front part "of the tanker clipped some of the installations then smashed into the wall of an electrical service building,[...]
