A release of hydrochloric acid vapours occurred during cleaning of a 50-m³ tank that had contained sulphur chloride. The water introduced by site technicians reacted with the sludge at the tank bottom (approx. 30-mm thick), composed for 50% of sulphur[...]
A tank glazed with 85% H2SO4 ruptured leading to a workshop to close down for five days in an explosives factory. Given the waste acid storage autonomy period of four days for production, 3 tank trucks hired in February and[...]
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[...]
At 7.10 am, 300 kg of phosphorus trichloride (PCl3) spilled over from a measuring tank during a loading operation and hydrolysed in the sewers of a chemical plant. The day before, 1,320 kg of 2-ethyl-hexanoic acid was introduced into a[...]
While conducting earthworks, a loader punctured an oil pipeline (Ø = 400 mm), buried 1.2 m deep and carrying naphtha at a pressure of 8-10 bar. Emanating from a 30 cm² opening, a jet spray 5 to 10 m high[...]
The summary of this accident has not yet been translated. In the meantime, please refer to the French summary : Une émission de 3,5 t de CVM a lieu sur un site chimique fabricant du PVC. La chaîne Poly III[...]
A chemical plant that had stopped its production for the weekend released a toxic cloud containing 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin into the atmosphere : 6½ hours earlier, at the end of the shift, the production cycle of 1,2,4,5-trichlorophenol had been stopped while only[...]
20 t of acrolein was released into the Rhone River. The manufacturing unit was undergoing its annual shutdown at the time and the neutralisation ponds (2 x 250 m³) were under repair. For the last four months, the tank cleaning[...]
Inside a powder factory, 2 series of explosions occurred at a 75-second interval around 1:15 pm, killing 3 and injuring 81 (60 employees, 20 nearby residents), 2 of whom in critical condition. When the forklift operator for Building 211 (intermediate[...]
