A 34,000-tonne inventory of bone meal under a hangar awaiting destruction began to heat. A passerby noticed a glow and notified the site watchman. A response covering a few m² with a powder extinguisher halted the phenomenon. The characteristics of[...]
A tank undergoing cleaning exploded after a 15-day production run. Along with a damaged drum dryer, the tank had been collecting washing water with an excess concentration of 2'-azobis (2 methylbutyronitrile) - AIVN (a by-product of hydrazine hydrate). In anticipating[...]
A chlorine leak occurred when degassing a sprayer during production downtime at the end of a campaign on a chemical site. The Cl2 tank in use was isolated by 2 remote-controlled valves placed in series ((20) liquid Cl2 tank outlet[...]
During the paint fabrication process, a tank containing a mix of minium (red lead) and glycerophthalic resin exploded at 11 pm. The ensuing fire destroyed 2 workshops and both the research and control laboratories; 170 employees were in technical unemployment.[...]
A malicious fire broke out at 4.20 pm in a warehouse with 30,000 m² of covered area over two levels that housed archives and a reefer shed including a decommissioned refrigeration unit containing 5 tonnes of ammonia (NH3). The flame[...]
In the attic of a slaughterhouse, 2.2 tonnes of ammonia (NH3) intended for recycling back to the unit leaked onto a solenoid valve on the low-pressure return circuit of a ground beef freezer. Employees were evacuated for 24 hrs, 40[...]
In an automobile paint plant, a technician left his workstation at 4:15 pm in forgetting to turn off the pump used to transfer paint containing 55% acrylic resin, 15% xylene, 16% butyl acetate and 4% ethylbenzene. The transfer of resin[...]
In a fertilizer production plant, an ammonia leak injured 3 workers, one of whom died. On December 1st, 1994, the weekly cleaning of the dryer was scheduled. The tubular reactor of this dryer was shut off at 6:25 am then[...]
An exothermic runaway reaction triggered an explosion and subsequent fire in a workshop at a pharmaceutical plant during a reduction step carried out inside a reactor inerted with nitrogen; this reduction was being performed in an anhydrous environment on an[...]
While transferring concentrated liquid waste inside a chemical plant, a tanker lorry driver died. He arrived at 9:30 am at the reception area and was joined in the transfer zone by the plant's safety engineer. The transfer from tank to 2[...]
