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July
Summary
An explosion occurred in the final purification column of an ethylene oxide manufacturing plant, resulting in 14 people being injured. The explosion caused several secondary fires on the original units,
Summary
An explosion occurred in the final purification column of an ethylene oxide manufacturing plant, resulting in 14 people being injured. The explosion caused several secondary fires on the original units, as well as other units nearby, but all were under control within 30 minutes. The root cause was identified as a rapid overpressurization of the column as a result of decomposition of material within it, although the ignition source was not identified.
[ Property Damage $78 Million. Estimated Current Value $187 Million ]
Image credit: Ineos
Summary
Around 8:15 am, fire-fighters were notified about a “gas leak” in a zone of the Belgian city of Ghislenghien, approximately 50 km from Brussels. This leak on the 100-cm
Summary
Around 8:15 am, fire-fighters were notified about a “gas leak” in a zone of the Belgian city of Ghislenghien, approximately 50 km from Brussels. This leak on the 100-cm diameter gas pipeline (DN 1000) was evidenced by a loud hissing, a tremor and the sudden creation of a cavity in the ground.
At 8:30 am, fire-fighters requested the assistance of the gas utility crew and set up a safety perimeter. Several tens of workers were present on a plant construction site and in a number of neighbouring companies. The leak increased in intensity, forming a whitish spray shooting some fifteen metres high.
At about 9:00 am, an explosion occurred; two minutes later, technicians were able to isolate the pipe segment between the two sectional valves. The gas cloud ignited, producing a “fireball” that subsequently transformed into a long flare whose height was estimated at 150-200 m. Depending on the estimation source, a temperature of around 3,000°C was reached in the middle of the fireball.
A number of individuals, including fire-fighters and police officers, were thrown tens of metres. Showers of debris fell onto the roofs of businesses in the industrial park. Within a radius of 150 to 200 m, tens of vehicles caught fire and the roof coverings of nearby commercial property actually liquefied. A packaging company occupying 3,000 m² of space and located roughly 60 metres away also caught on fire.
An 11-m pipeline section weighing more than a tonne was projected a distance of 150 m against the enclosure of an industrial pastry shop, whose facade blistered. Rescue teams stayed close to their vehicles some 150 m from the scene while sprinkling their polyester cistern, which had become warped due to the thermal radiation.
With a human toll of 24 dead, including 5 fire-fighters, 1 police officer and 5 employees killed on the spot, plus 132 injured, this accident was qualified as Belgium’s most serious industrial disaster in half a century.
Image credit: DPA
Origin
ARIABureau for Analysis of Industrial Risks and Pollutions