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Explosion of ammonium nitrate in a fertilizer plant

  • FRANCE
A phenomenon of exceptional violence Between 20 and 120 tonnes of a stock containing more than 300 tonnes of ammonium nitrate refuse detonated in a fertiliser plant. The causes and circumstances surrounding the accident would give rise to several investigations[...]
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Fire on PCB transformers.

  • FRANCE
A fire broke out around 2:50 am in an electrical utility room at a paper mill. Engulfed in the flames, four transformers emptied entirely and a fifth halfway, dispersing a dielectric containing PCB. A prefectural order motivated by a proposal[...]
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Water pollution

  • FRANCE
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[...]
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Cyanide pollution in Eastern Europe

  • ROUMANIE
In a gold ore retreatment facility opened in May 1999, a settling basin for tailings storage collapsed after a 25-m long crack formed. A total of 287,500 m³ of effluent laced with cyanide (400 mg/l, 115 tonnes total) and heavy[...]
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Pollution of the ENNS following an oil spill on a tank

  • AUTRICHE
Inside a motor factory the day after a pressure test was conducted on a double-shell tank containing hydrocarbons, pollutants spilled into the ENNS River; local fishermen made the discovery. This pollution outbreak affected 35 km of river length and 3[...]
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  • FRANCE
The summary of this accident has not yet been translated. In the meantime, please refer to the French summary : Sur un site chimique en milieu urbain, un disque de sécurité éclate et une soupape s'ouvre à 21h31 et durant[...]
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Derailment of gasoline cars

  • FRANCE
A 20-car convoy left a tunnel around 11:30 pm in order to cross a train station when 7 tanks carrying 80 m3 of gasoline derailed. An axle with an overheated roller bearing broke on one of the railcars. Traces on[...]
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Explosion in an oil depot

  • FRANCE
A leak occurred at the level of a fitting on a 12" racking pipe located downstream of the foot valve on a 4,525 m³ tank containing unleaded gasoline with a 98 octane rating (SP98). The retention basin of this tank[...]
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