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Organisational and human factors

Benzene Leaks From A Port Petrochemical Pipeline

Benzene leaks from a port petrochemical pipeline

  • FRANCE
Connecting an oil terminal to a chemical plant 1.5 km away, a heat-insulated pipeline pressurised at 300 mm was perforated following a period of intense cold weather; 4 m³ of benzene had solidified upon shrinking below 5°C. By 2:50 pm,[...]
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Explosion In A Pharmaceutical Preparation Factory

Explosion in a pharmaceutical preparation factory

  • FRANCE
At a plant producing substances used in medical imaging, a temperature control defect on a biconical dryer caused product decomposition during the drying cycle. The subsequent pressure surge led, around 10 pm, to the explosion of part of the glass[...]
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Overflow Of A Petrol Tank In An Oil Depot

Overflow of a petrol tank in an oil depot

  • FRANCE
In an oil depot, 3,750 m³ of unleaded gasoline were transferred from one storage tank to another at the end of the afternoon by remote control from the site's control room in order to prepare for a barge loading. Around[...]
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Explosions At A Petrochemical Site

Explosions at a petrochemical site

  • FRANCE
At a petrochemical plant, a pipe supplying air to a steam production boiler exploded at 3:40 pm, triggering a few seconds later a 2nd and more powerful explosion on a duct used to recover volatile organic compounds (VOC). The explosion[...]
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Fire In A Tank Caused By Lightning In A Refinery

Fire in a tank caused by lightning in a refinery

  • FRANCE
Several lightning strikes were recorded in a refinery at 7:25 pm, one of which caused the expansion space to explode on a 2,000-m³ capacity buffer tank (for collection and settlement) filled with 770 m³ of process water. The hydrocarbon supernatants[...]
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Explosion Of A Paper Pulp Storage Tank

Explosion of a paper pulp storage tank

  • FRANCE
The summary of this accident has not yet been translated. In the meantime, please refer to the French summary : Vers 8h40 dans une papeterie soumise à autorisation, une cuve de 1 000 m³ remplie à 95 % avec de[...]
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Distillation Unit Rupture And Flames In A Chemical Plant

Distillation unit rupture and flames in a chemical plant

  • FRANCE
An explosion occurred around 1:40 am in a formulation reactor upon completion of camphorsulfonic acid loading into the toluene for the purpose of drying by means of azeotropic distillation. The explosion injured 1 technician due to the direct (blast) effect[...]
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Implosion Of A Non-degassed Butadiene Tanker Car

Implosion of a non-degassed butadiene tanker car

  • FRANCE
An empty butadiene tanker car not yet degassed was in transit at a marshalling yard. Due to the ambient cold temperature (-17°C), the gaseous phase of the butadiene liquefied (Tboiling=-4.4°C); cistern pressure was drawn down by an estimated 0.35 bar[...]
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Aerosol Warehouse Explosion

Aerosol warehouse explosion

  • ROYAUME-UNI
Fire broke out around 1 pm in a warehouse for sanitary aerosol products. The facility contained some 4,000 pallets of spray cans, whose average ingredients consisted of 60% LPG and 40% ethanol by weight; it also housed an equivalent number[...]
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