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April 12, 2001 Oil Rig Fire Near Carlsbad, New Mexico Injures
Three
An oil rig fire in a remote, unpopulated desert south of Brantley Lake
State Park, destroyed the $3 million rig owned by Timber Sharp and injured
three works, one critically. The cause of the blaze is unknown, but early
speculation was that the drillers may have encountered a pocket of
gas. In the hours after the blowout, authorities removed 7,600
gallons of diesel fuel and 450 gallons of motor oil in tanks near the rig
to prevent them from exploding at the site on Bureau of Land Management
property. Local fire crews were then evacuated and the fire could
continue for some time. A crew that specializes in fighting oil rig fires
was sent from Houston and is being cautious because there is little threat
from the fire outside the immediate zone. To extinguish the fire, the crew
must tear down the Timber Sharp Rig, use explosives to smother the fire,
and cap the well.
April 2, 2001 Gas Heater Explosion
in Turkey Kills Six Workers
A worker poured diesel fuel over an oil heater Monday (4/2/01), setting
off an explosion and fire that killed him and five other companions. The
workers, who were engaged in installing natural gas pipes in a housing
complex, were taking momentary shelter from the cold and rain in a
warehouse. The accident took place near the industrial city of Ixmit,
Turkey, which was hit by a devastating earthquake in 1999.
April 2, 2001 Two Workers Asphyxiate Aboard Shipboard Tank
Two men who were checking tanks aboard a gravel-transport ship at
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd's shipyard in Kobe asphyxiated from lack
of oxygen. One of the dead was a Mitsubishi employee, and the other was a
contractor. Mitsubishi Heavy has taught its workers to look at the oxygen
density in the tanks before entering as the oxygen supply could become
thin due to rust on iron inside, the police said. At the entrance of the
tank in question, there was a notice written in chalk saying "oxygen
not yet checked."
March 29, 2001 Ships Collide in
Baltic Sea, Large Spill Prevented
An oil tanker collided with a freighter in the Baltic Sea, spilling about
550,000 gallons of oil that authorities said was drifting toward Denmark
on Thursday, with small slicks reaching shore. The collision ripped a wide
gash in the side of the double-hulled tanker, which was carrying nearly
9.7 million gallons of oil, but because the oil tanker was not full, most
of the oil from ruptured compartments were moved to other parts of the
vessel. Efforts to contain the oil that escaped were hampered by very high
winds approaching 45 miles per hour. One of the larger slicks was about
500 feet long and 100 feet wide, while some of the smaller ones were about
110 square feet in area, authorities said. Four Danish ships with oil
containment equipment were trying to contain the slicks, aided by German
and Swedish coast guard vessels. Denmark's most recent serious oil spill
was in 1985, when nearly 90,000 gallons of oil reached the shores of
Laesoe island, halfway between the Jutland peninsula and western Sweden.
March 24, 2001 Acid and Dye Spill at a Detroit Area Paper Mill
A 250-gallon spill at the Ypsilanti Paper Mill prompted an evacuation
of the plant; at least one worker suffered minor burns. Fire
department officials said that the cleanup team was able to contain the
spill and prevent it from running into the storm drains adjacent to the
property, as well as the Huron River itself.
March 22, 2001 SEMX Corporation Poised in Handling Ammonia Release
Here is a story about a corporation that handled a potentially dangerous
situation particularly well and mitigated the incident. A leak from
the SEMX Corporation's manufacturing plant in San Diego caused by over
pressurization of an external storage tank was quickly contained and a
more serious accident was averted. In a press release, Frank J. Polese,
president of SEM's Microelectronic Packaging Group and President and CEO
of Polese Company, said, "Polese Company's supervisory personnel
reacted immediately, the back-up systems performed their functions and the
situation was brought under control quickly. I am very proud of the manner
in which our employees reacted to mitigate any potential health and safety
issues." The company went on to say, "Although the authorities
re-certified entry into all facilities around noon, the company will not
restart selected operations affected by this incident until all
appropriate repairs have been made." "At this time, the full
extent of the interruption of production is not know, but the Company
expects that sintering operations will be affected for several days.
March 20, 2001 Ship Carrying Acid Sinks Off Spain
A freighter carrying sulfuric acid sank in the Bay of Biscay off the
northern coast of Spain on March 20, but the risk of pollution seemed
minimal. All 23 crew members were rescued when the Balu, a 24-year-old
Maltese-registered ship, sank en route from Frederiksen, Denmark to the
south of Spain. The ship was carrying about 8,000 tons of sulfuric
acid when it sank about 136 miles north of the Spanish coast (about 250
miles south of Brest, France). No efforts would be made to retrieve the
cargo. Christopher Rousseau, a specialist at Brest's CEDRE, an agency for
study and research into sea pollution, said the acid, which is highly
soluble in water, would dilute over time. However, French and
Spanish authorities will still carry out tests in the surrounding waters
to be sure there is no significant pollution.
March 15, 2001 Explosions at World's Largest Offshore Oil Platform
Leads to 11 Deaths, Structure Sinking
For information about this incident, please refer to our
companion story.
March 13, 2001 Georgia Plastics Plant Explosion Kills Three
Three workers at a plastics plant in Augusta, Georgia, were killed on
March 13 when a malfunctioning unit exploded and caught fire. The cause of
the accident at the Amoco Polymers plant in Augusta, about 150 miles (240
km) east of Atlanta, was not known. The victims had been repairing a unit
where metal fasteners are made when two explosions occurred. A small blaze
was quickly extinguished by firefighters, and no major structural damage
to the plant was reported. The plant makes plastics designed to withstand
high temperatures for auto parts and other products.
March 9, 2001 Chevron Denies Angolan Oil Spill Responsibility
Chevron has denied responsibility for an oil spill that has affected
fishing near its operations in northern Angola, church-run radio reported
on March 9. A Chevron spokesperson said that "the stain" near
its operation was oil and plants coming from the Congo River. and that the
spill had dissipated and had not washed ashore. Fishermen told the
commission they had been denied use of nearby beaches by Chevron security
services and that Chevron helicopters had allegedly spread a substance on
the water, the same material reportedly used to help contain a Chevron
spill in the area in December 1999. Chevron paid 100 local fishermen
affected by the 1999 spill $2,000 each. Another 350 fishermen have sued
Chevron for damages but the case is still pending. Both spills were in the
northern Angolan enclave of Cabinda, which is separated from the rest of
the country by a sliver of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Oil spills
have often been blamed on detritus from industries up the Congo River.
Chevron is Angola's largest oil producer, currently pumping more than
500,000 barrels a day from offshore fields.
March 7, 2001 Explosion at Canadian Synthetic Crude Operation Injures Four
An explosion outside Suncor Energy's northern Alberta oil sands mining and
synthetic crude oil operation injured four contract workers. Gas level
monitors were credited in alerting workers of potential dangers and
minimizing the number of workers affected by the explosion and fire. The
cause of the incident was under investigation, but some facts have been
shared about the incident. Initial indications are that a pump broke
down, venting hydrocarbon gas from a pressure release valve as the system
is designed to do. Suncor spokeswoman Brenda Erskine said, "the gas
was released into the air in the immediate vicinity and it was ignited by
an external source." Another source said a gas open flame space
heater was left on and was the source of ignition, causing the
flashback. Suncor operates Canada's second-largest oil sands
operation north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. The facility extracts bitumen
(an extra-heavy oil) from the oil sands.
February 28, 2001 Chlorine Leak in
Nova Scotia Forces Evacuations at Industrial Park
People were evacuated from three businesses Wednesday after a 150-pound
cylinder of chlorine was inadvertently punctured at a Dartmouth industrial
park. There were no reports of injuries, but local firefighters were
particularly cautious because of the extreme dangers from chlorine
gas. Cold weather worked in favor of firefighters because it slowed
down the rate the gas spread out, and the evacuation area was confined to
81 meters squared.
February 27, 2001 Unsafe Work
Practices Blamed for an Airbag Factory Explosion that Injured Three
TRW Safety Systems employees were burned when a blowtorch ignited sodium
azide residue, a powdery explosive chemical used to make air bags deploy.
The explosion blew out walls and injured three workers. The three
were cutting pipes in a building that was to be vacated. The pipes had
been used to carry the chemical when the area last was in use in May
1999.
The Mesa Fire Department said such factors
and failure to comply with safety guidelines and failure to follow the
requirements of an internal hot-work permit may have helped lead to the
explosion. The department also said Tuesday that an assumption that the
area was decontaminated and a lack of internal shutdown procedures also
may have been factors. The hot-work permit signed by supervisors a day
earlier required a safety inspection of the work area prior to use of a
blowtorch. The permit also required other precautions such as moving
flammable and combustible solids away from the work zone and
decontamination of the work area. Investigations by the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the
state Attorney General's Office, and the Arizona Division of Occupational
Safety and Health were pending on Tuesday. Once those are completed, the
fire department it will determine an official cause of the blast and
decide whether to take action against TRW. Meanwhile, work on the building
has stopped until TRW can provide documentation and assure that employees
understand safety guidelines, the report said.
TRW's two Mesa plants have been plagued
with problems repeatedly over the last decade. Firefighters were called to
the operations numerous times for fires and explosions mainly related to
sodium azide. Neighbors filed a class-action lawsuit in April 2000 against
TRW, the world's second-largest air bag maker, claiming that from 1991 to
1999, fires and explosions at the plants exposed residents to sodium azide
and other toxic and dangerous substances. Overall, 16 workers were injured
in 32 fires from 1993 to 1995, prompting the Mesa Fire Department to shut
down one plant for a day in September 1995 to secure improved safety
regulations. In September 1994, a construction worker was killed and six
employees were injured at one of the Mesa plants when ignited air bag
propellant residue exploded. TRW later paid a $1.75 million fine. The
company also agreed in January to pay nearly $25 million to settle
criminal allegations that it illegally stored and dumped the toxic
chemical in landfills in Arizona, Utah and California.
February 25, 2001 100 Families Evacuated Following Fire and
Explosion at Alabama Urethane Manufacturing Plant
A fire at the Miller Urethane Products Inc. plant, which manufactures
urethane washers and seals, forced local authorities in Moody, Alabama to
evacuate about 100 families. One police officer was overcome by smoke and
treated and released at a local hospital. When burning, urethane can give
off fumes that can affect the nervous system and liver.
February 23, 2001 Previously Undicovered Fuel Tank Spill in
Wisconsin Leaks 5000 Gallons
A fuel tank that leaked 5,000 gallons into the ground and the sewer system
were cleaned up nearly five weeks after an underground fuel pipe from a
fuel tank broke. The tank, located in Fond du Loc, Wisconsin, is owned by
Purina Mills, Inc. The pipe was shut down a while ago but Purina Mills
didn't take any action to clean up what had leaked at the time. The
leak was in the snow and it apparently emerged from the ground with
the frost. No one was injured by the spill and it does not pose any
danger to drinking water. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
will investigate why the company did not immediately report the spill.
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
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