January
18, 2002 N. Dakota Derailment, Ammonia Leak lead to 1 Death
Approximately 30 cars of a Canadian Pacific Railroad train derailed on the western outskirts of Minot, North Dakota resulting in an anhydrous ammonia leak. One person died and 13 were admitted to hospital, seven in intensive care. As a precautionary measure, residents of approximately 40 homes adjacent to the derailment site were evacuated for 24 hours. The train that derailed carried a total of 112 cars. It originated in Edmonton, Alberta and was destined for St. Paul, Minn. Authorities did not immediately identify the man who died but said he was found outside his home, close to the wreck.
January 15, 2002 UK Platform Evacuated
after Gas Leak
Royal Dutch/Shell evacuated 102 workers from an oil rig in the North Sea after an alarm system detected the presence of gas. Helicopters carried staff from the Brent Charlie platform to six other nearby Shell rigs. Fifty-three essential personnel remained on board. Shell ruled out a release of oil or natural gas from its drilling system and said the gas detected was most likely hydrogen sulfide, which naturally occurs in the stagnant water within the legs of the platform. The rig, one of four that tap the Brent oil and gas field, will stay shut pending further investigation.
January 13, 2002 Five Injured in Louisiana
Refinery Fire
Five persons were injured when a fire broke out at ExxonMobil's Scenic Highway refinery. An ExxonMobil spokesman said refinery workers, and workers for maintenance and construction contractor were isolating a part of the refinery's equipment by installing a blind. Somehow, residual "light hydrocarbon, probably
butylene", ignited in the pipes and valves and the resulting fire burned the workers. The parts to be isolated were scheduled for maintenance.
January 13, 2002 None Injured in
Explosion at Texas Refinery
A leak of isobutane is thought to be the cause of an explosion and fire. Isobutane was being used to clean a vessel which was to be put back in service, and it is thought that failure of a valve was the cause of the leak, which found an ignition source and was set off. According to a spokesman for the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, the vapour from the isobutane ignited on a nearby heater, causing a vapour flash. Two days later authorities confirmed that a broken seal on a valve was responsible for the incident.
January 9, 2002 First Columbian Pipeline
Bombings of 2002
The Cano Limon oil pipeline was knocked out by a rebel bomb in the first such attack of this year. The pipeline -- bombed a record 170 times in 2001 -- should be repaired by 01.12, provided that there are no new rebel attacks. Each day the oil pipeline is knocked out costs Colombia $3 million, according to oil industry analysts.
Between January 9-18, the pipeline was attacked a total of 4 times.
January
8, 2002 Explosion at Louisiana Chemical Plant Felt Miles Away
Although a fire caused by an explosion at the Dow Chemical plant was quickly extinguished, the blast shook buildings miles away. No one was injured in the explosion that started in the olefins I cracker area, and the ensuing fire was extinguished by plant workers in eight to ten minutes. Dow officials are still investigating how the fire started but it appears that
naphtha somehow leaked or was released from a pipe and touched the furnace's
flames. An alarm sounded in the olefins unit minutes before the explosion occurred, alerting nearby workers.
Source: CSB CIRC
January 7, 2002 Iowa Fertilizer Leak leads to Fish Kill
More than 7,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer is making its way down the Floyd River in northwest Iowa killing untold numbers of fish. State Department of Natural Resources officials say the contamination is flowing beneath the ice covering the stream, making it difficult to reach. While any further contamination of the river has been stopped by an earthen dam where the spill originated, the leading edge of the contamination that reached the river had traveled 12 miles downstream by Tuesday afternoon and was still very deadly to aquatic life. The plume could continue killing fish downstream for the next several days, DNR officials said. The liquid nitrogen fertilizer spilled onto the ground when a transfer pipe leading to a bulk storage tank froze and then split.
Source: CSB CIRC
January 7, 2002 Chemical Leak Settles over New York Town
A leak at an area chemical company blanketed parts of a New York town with a chemical cloud. Officials of the Diaz Chemical Corp. in Holley said the leak of approximately 80 gallons of water mixed with 2-chloro-6 flurophenol and toluene, happened because of a pressure build-up in one of its vessels and the subsequent activation of a safety device. Diaz has offered assistance to any nearby residents affected by the leak, and plans to have neighbor's homes and cars professionally cleaned.
Source:
CSB CIRC
January 6, 2002 Chlorine Leak Kills 3 Gorillas, Injures 2 Zookeepers
A chlorine gas leak at a Brownsville-area zoo killed three gorillas, injured two zoo staff workers trying to rescue them, and injured 9 gorillas in the zoo enclosure. The zookeepers were treated at a hospital and released. Firefighters arriving at the scene found three gorillas unconscious and others suffering from chlorine inhalation. Authorities suspect a nearby space heater caused a fire that melted the plastic container of chlorine.
Source:
CSB CIRC
January 3, 2002 Nigerian Pipeline Sabotage may close Refineries
Two Nigerian refineries may shut down this weekend following sabotage of pipelines supplying crude oil to the refineries. All the valves and lines supplying crude to the two refineries have been closed down, apparently to check further spill into the vicinity. The incident resulted in a massive oil spill into the environment, destroying the aquatic life in the area.
January 3, 2001 Aussie Cement Ship becomes Floating Concrete Block
A 30,000 ton bulk carrier was en route to Adelaide when it was discovered that one of its 20 fire hydrants had been opened and seawater pumped into the ship's cargo hold containing nearly 700
tons of cement, turning the vessel into a floating concrete block. The
ship's master contacted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to report that someone had opened a fire hydrant inside a machinery space, pumping water into the cement cargo but noted there was no immediate safety threat aboard the vessel. The
ship is at the center of a court battle between the ship's owners, CSL Australia and the Maritime Union of Australia
(MUA) over plans to replace the vessel's Australian crew with cheaper Ukrainian sailors. A spokesman from the MUA's South Australian branch denied that any union member would sabotage the ship, saying the culprit was a leaky fire hydrant.
January 2, 2002 Many Killed In Chinese Fireworks Explosion
Forty-three bodies have been recovered from a fireworks factory in southeast China that was devastated by a fire early on a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Tuesday. The search for survivors from the inferno, which may have killed most of the 200 workers, was proceeding very slowly because rescuers fear the 30 tons of gunpowder in the factory's underground warehouse might still explode. Local authorities tried to cover up the disaster by setting up roadblocks to prevent reporters from reaching the explosion site and sending armed police to guard the two hospitals treating the injured at Huangmao in Jiangxi province. Only 20 were known to have escaped from the plant, which was owned by a Hong Kong businessman. Shockwaves knocked out iron doors and shattered window glass in houses in a 6km radius. An initial probe pointed to human error as the cause of the blast. Source: CSB CIRC
December 29, 2001 Peruvian Fireworks Blast Kills 122
Firefighters dug through the rubble Sunday of a massive blaze sparked by a fireworks explosion in historic downtown Lima just four blocks from Congress, fearing the death toll could climb beyond 150. An initial blast ripped through a fireworks shop and flames raced through the three- and four-story buildings as firefighters and volunteers dragged people from the burning structures. The area was jammed with shoppers and sidewalk vendors selling fireworks, which then also exploded as the fire swept down the streets, trapping many of the victims, who had nowhere to run. Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo declared Sunday and Monday national days of mourning and announced an immediate ban on the production and importation of fireworks.
Source: CSB CIRC
December 23, 2001 Custodial Worker Killed by Ammonia Leak
Wisconsin state officials are investigating an accident that killed an Oscar Mayer Foods custodial worker and injured one other when they were exposed to toxic gas leaking from a ruptured cooler tank. The two men were moving a tank of ammonia in a loading dock when a line broke, spilling 50 gallons of ammonia.
Source: CSB CIRC
December 19, 2001 Wyoming Refinery Blast Injures 2
Two Frontier Refining workers were burned in an explosion and fire at the refinery Wednesday morning from a leaking hydrogen compressor. The explosive gas ignited. Plant officials said the plant was still running except for the explosion area. He was unsure when full operations will resume.
Source: CSB CIRC
December 17, 2001 Florida Ammonia Leak Injures 9
Investigators probing a potentially fatal industrial accident at a Lake Wales citrus plant are concentrating on fittings sealing a 4-6 inch-diameter pipe that carried liquid ammonia from a juice chiller. Plant officials said that appears that an O-ring failed at the end of a pipe cap releasing anhydrous ammonia into the Citrosuco North America plant east of the city. Nine people including two state agriculture department employees and a federal agriculture worker were injured. Officials said members of Citrosuco's hazardous material team had already suited up and rescued three of the victims when firefighters arrived.
Source: CSB CIRC
December 17, 2001 Static Electricity Blamed in Georgia Paint Plant
Blast
A mixing vat at a Toccoa paint factory exploded seriously burning one employee. Initial reports by firefighters and factory workers indicate the explosion at Piedmont Paints and Primers was caused by a static electric charge buildup.
Source: CSB CIRC
December 16, 2001 Illinois Hydrochloric Acid Leak Leads to Evacuations
According to the NRC report, approximately 4,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid leaked from an above ground storage tank on Sunday at the North American Lighting plant. According to the report, the tank was newly fabricated and had been in service for one week when the bottom portion of the tank failed.
Fumes caused the evacuation of nearby residences but no injuries were reported.
December 14, 2001 Iowa Ammonia Pipeline Leak Leads to Massive Fish Kill
The anhydrous ammonia spill near Algona killed nearly 1.3 million fish- the largest fish kill on state record, Iowa state officials said. More than 58,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia over a 9 hour period spilled from a broken pipeline owned by Koch Industries Inc. into Lotts Creek and the Des Moines River killing minnows, bass and other game fish. The contaminated water that has reached the Des Moines River will likely take about six days to reach Des Moines, where the river is used as a source of drinking water. Koch Pipeline, a Texas company that owns the 8-inch pipeline, was doing maintenance work on a valve on the pipeline. Officials said the plume drifted over a six-mile area causing officials to evacuate residents in its path.
Source: CSB CIRC
Sources and Disclaimer:
AcuSafe's Incident News Summary is primarily compiled from Reuters and AP news wires, and from information shared on the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Chemical Incident Reports Center. An effort has been made to summarize stories only from reputable sources, but neither AcuSafe nor AcuTech Consulting can guarantee the accuracy of the story, nor do they necessarily reflect the views of AcuTech, AcuSafe, and its staff. We make no effort to independently corroborate the accuracy of the incident news stories.
AcuSafe is a presentation of
AcuTech Consulting, ©2002, All Rights Reserved | 
