At around 10.15 pm, a fire engulfed a 1,600-m² warehouse containing finished chemical products. Despite rapid intervention, the fire menaced a nitric acid production unit, thirteen 1-ton containers of dimethylsulfate (DMSO4) and ammonia tanks. The metal framework and the roof[...]
At a pesticide manufacturing plant set up in 1969, a release of about 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) and other toxic gases continued for 2 hours during the night of 2nd to 3rd December, subsequent to a runaway reaction[...]
In the storage tanks of a refinery (production: 5 million tonnes/year), smoke was detected on a 94,000-m³ capacity floating roof tank containing 47,000 tonnes of light crude oil (flash point: 38°C). Shortly thereafter, the surface (4,800 m²) ignited. In the[...]
An explosion occurred at 2:15 pm inside the materials handling tower of a silo located at a malt house during repairs of the facility's slabs and installation of a dust removal system, performed by 3 subcontracted employees. The filling ratio[...]
Fire broke out in a wholesale hardware store located in the city centre at the site of a former foundry. The facility was storing in small packets 14 tonnes of sodium chlorate and 33,000 litres of flammable liquids (alcohol, solvents,[...]
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[...]
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[...]
An explosion occurred on a Monday morning upon resuming activity in an LPG warehouse featuring a filling station. According to the facility layout, the electrical installation was located in the maintenance workshop, which also contained air compressors, at a distance[...]
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[...]
A flash followed by a fire and explosion occurred at an LPG filling station. The building depot was divided into several zones: a carrousel for filling 13-kg propane bottles, a 35-kg bottle-filling zone, a testing zone, a palletizing platform, and[...]
