The bottom of a 13,500 m³ containing 12,000 m³ of light crude oil tank ripped open at 8:00 am within an oil depot. The earthen dikes surrounding the retention basin withstood the wave effect; 2,000 m³ of oil still overflowed[...]
In a cellulose manufacturing plant, sulphur dioxide leaked following a loss of air tightness of a cover of a reactor. Cellulose is manufactured in a process where wood chips are heated in a vessel containing sulphuric acid and sulphur dioxide.[...]
In a company dedicated to producing hunting ammunition, fire broke out on a pyrotechnic waste burning zone, on a day when the production facility was closed for annual holidays. A single entrance provided access to this excavated (50 x 30[...]
A little after midnight, an extremely flammable gas leak occurred in the ammonium manufacturing unit of a chemical plant manufacturing nitrogen fertilisers. The gas, mainly, consisting of hydrogen, escaped from a valve. Released at 220 bar and 120°C, it ignited[...]
In a cast iron foundry that alternates the use of two cupola furnaces every other day, an explosion occurred at 6.30 pm during furnace unloading (carried out via hatches placed underneath the furnace) of meltdown products into a tub. Coke,[...]
Inside a chemical plant, a sulphur dichloride (SCl2) leak on a pipeline supplying the boiler tube of a distillation column hydrolysed, thereby generating a strong emission of hydrogen chloride (HCl). This column was located in a building with a cladding[...]
A fire broke out in a refinery at 10.15 am in the ETX2 oil aromatic extraction unit, using N-Methyl Pyrrolidone (NMP).After having been shut down for regulator inspection and work, the unit resumed operations on April 19th, then when into[...]
A 200 l metal drum containing paint cabin cleaning solvents exploded at 7 pm in a factory applying paints and varnishes to plastic parts for the automobile industry. 8 employees were injured, included 3 seriously injured and 12 others were[...]
Following the transfer of Jet A1 jet fuel between the hydrocarbons depot of an airport (A) and an adjacent depot (B) on December 29, 2 connecting valves between the unloading booms and the tank were not closed. During unloading operation[...]
During the vacuum transfer of liquid waste into steel tanks at a dangerous waste treatment centre, hydrogen sulphide (H2S) was released from the vent of a receiving tank. As they could not be treated on site, these wastes (received in[...]
