In a dockside warehouse of oil and petroleum products, a reservoir containing 1,600 m³ of ortho-cresol broke and a vapour cloud rose in the direction of the nearby Rotterdam metropolitan area. The reservoir collapsed on one of its sides and[...]
Fire broke out in an isomerization unit at a refinery; the unit was responsible for transforming pentanes and hexanes. The blaze also damaged the benzene saturation unit, which served to convert aromatics into saturated compounds. Mechanical deficiencies on a compressor[...]
During efforts since the previous day to locate the source of a pressure drop on the cyclohexane supply line of an olone production facility, a leak of this substance was discovered at a chemical site. The substance, used in large[...]
At a refinery early in the evening (8:22 pm), a leak ignited on a stripping column of the gasoline hydrotreatment unit. This step was intended to eliminate a number of impurities (sulfurized, nitrogenated and oxygenated compounds, metals) before being routed[...]
In a fine chemistry plant employing 70 staff, a 1,500-litre enamelled reactor underwent a pressure surge and exploded during the oxidation of 200 kg of dichloro-dicyano-hydroquinone (DDHQ) into dichloro-dicyano-quinone (DDQ) by means of nitric acid and oxygen in a solvent[...]
Acid water stemming from the manufacturing of dyes and pigments was partially channelled to a neutralisation facility located 18 km from a chemical plant. Between 5th and 11th August, a succession of leaks was observed, especially over the first 2[...]
For the 2nd time in less than 24 hours, the window on an 80-m³ beer tank in a brewery exploded after pressure in the container had risen. Plant activity was suspended for the time needed to determine the precise cause[...]
In a brewery, the porthole on an 80-m³ beer vat exploded as tank pressure was being increased. The fermentation process involved 2 phases: a start-up period with atmospheric discharge of the air/carbon dioxide (CO2) mix for 10 to 16 hours,[...]
In a cheese factory, ammonia (NH3) leaked during the morning in a 4,000 m² (50 x 20 x 4 m) building housing the ice water production unit operating at 0.4 Mfg/hour, with 3 independent refrigeration circuits containing 1 tonne of[...]
A butadiene leak occurred inside a chemical plant; its origin was a flare pipe break on a butadiene workshop reboiler. The gas alarm was immediately activated as was the internal emergency plan. 7 tonnes of butadiene escaped, a vehicle crossing[...]
