In a distillery, a 5,000-m³ tank containing 1,000 m³ of ethanol at 96% concentration exploded when lightning struck and then ignited. The raised roof fell into the reservoir, which remained intact. However, the tank foot valve cracked upon impact. An[...]
At 10.40 pm, during a styrene/acrylonitrile copolymerisation reaction in a plastics manufacturing plant, the operator in the control room detected an abnormal temperature increase to 125 °C on one of the 75-m³ reactors. The visual display screen in the control[...]
A leak occurred on the lower drainage pipe of a 16-m³ tank containing 10.3 m³ of sulphuric acid. The tank operating under 2 bar of pressure was feeding a tanning workshop. Further downstream, plant effluent was neutralised using lime milk[...]
At a site dedicated to recycling polyethylene terephthalate for the production of polyol/polyester foam, fire broke out in the PET bottle feed chute connecting the first reactor (containing glycols and a catalyst) while conducting process management validation tests under actual[...]
340 kg of butadiene leaked from a 55 m³ reactor in a plant manufacturing ABS resins. Following pre-polymerisation tests (safety systems, reactor pressure test), 25 tonnes of water, emulsifying agent, an initiator and 15 tonnes of liquid butadiene under a[...]
On a Saturday shortly before 3 pm, a fire broke out in the C2 workshop (used for manufacturing fireworks) at a fireworks depot. Local fire-fighters were notified. Rockets spread the fire to containers located just opposite the blaze. At 3:08[...]
Fire broke out at a site specialised in collecting, sorting and storing industrial wastes before their transport and ultimate treatment. At the time of the accident, this large-scale platform was warehousing 480 tonnes of miscellaneous chemical waste. Fire-fighters, unable to[...]
In the cyanhydric acid (HCN) synthesis workshop at a chemical plant manufacturing adiponitrile, a purification column was being cleaned by introducing air to bleed the cyanhydric acid contained inside, with the residual gaseous mix then being burned in a boiler.[...]
Inside a foundry, an explosion in a refining furnace containing 6.7 tonnes of ingot alloys (Fe, Mo, Ni, Co, Al, Ti), 0.5 tonnes of cast iron scrap, 0.8 tonnes of sand and 240 kg of lime projected molten metal and[...]
In a unit handling nitric acid concentrations at a plant manufacturing phytosanitary products and medicines, an explosion occurred on the lower part of the distillation column and on the associated heating tank. Fire broke out in the adjoining zone, generating[...]
