May
20, 2002 Kiwi Ammonia Leak Injures 10
Ten employees from a Christchurch food storage center were taken to hospital after being overcome by fumes following an ammonia leak. Fifteen people were treated at the scene in the industrial suburb of Hornby, after the ammonia leaked from a refrigeration plant at the site. Officials said that because there was no wind, the ammonia was sucked back into the building's ventilation
system.
Source: CSB CIRC
May 17, 2002 Miscommunication Leads to Oregon Plant Fire
Worker error has been cited as the cause of an explosion and fire in a 10m high asphalt
tank at Owens Corning in Portland. When fire crews arrived, flames were shooting out the
top and the steel sides were glowing red, according to a Portland Fire and Rescue
spokesman. Investigators say a miscommunication between two overnight workers caused the
explosion and ensuing fire. The workers believed that the 100,000-gallon tank contained
28,000 gallons of liquid asphalt. It actually contained much less, and when they began
heating the tank, vapor built up inside and the tank exploded.
May 17, 2002 Ammonia leak from Fire-Damaged Quebecan Slaughterhouse
About 30 people were evacuated after an ammonia leak was detected at a slaughterhouse destroyed by fire three days earlier.
It was the second evacuation, but substantially smaller than the one required earlier when 1,700 people were
forced from their homes after the fire broke out. About 18 gallons of ammonia leaked when
the fire slightly damaged a tank containing less than 1,200 gallons used to refrigerate
pork. The original fire killed 2,200 pigs at the plant. Provincial police said the fire
was believed to be an accident and welding work in a wooden building at the plant likely
triggered the blaze.
May 16, 2002 Four Employees Killed in
Rubber Plant Explosion
A fourth worker has died from injuries suffered in the explosion and flash fire at Rouse Polymerics in Vicksburg, Mississippi. In all, 12 men were injured or killed in the blast that remains under investigation.
Officials reported that the plant had a small fire in a dryer that led to a large explosion. Rouse's products are powdered rubber, made from grinding and drying scrap rubber and used in the manufacture of tires and other products.
.
Source: CSB CIRC
May 16, 2002 Canadian Capitol Building Water Supply Contaminated
More than 2,000 federal government employees fled their offices after an accidental
ethylene glycol spill turned the buildings' water blue. The spill at L'Esplanade Laurier
sent a "trickle" of people to Ottawa's emergency rooms. Workers fixing a heating system on
the previous day are blamed for spilling approximately 250 gallons of ethylene glycol.
While trying to clean up, they accidentally flushed the substance into the water supply.
The next day, people began complaining of slightly blue water and off-tasting coffee. The
building's water system was shut down and sealed off from the city's system.
May 15, 2002 Romanian Coal Mine Explosion
up to 11
Three coal miners were killed, four injured, and seven were missing after a methane
explosion. Fear of new explosions forced rescue crews to pause in efforts to reach the site
of the blast until the area could be ventilated. A preliminary investigation concluded that
the explosion occurred in a closed area of the mine when accumulated gases were ignited by
"self-igniting coal". Last August, an explosion at a nearby mine in the same city killed 13
miners. Investigators concluded that explosion was caused when an accumulation of gas was
ignited by faulty electrical wires.
May 15, 2002 Chinese Explosion kills 11 Miners
A gas explosion at the Xinyuan coal mine in southern China claimed the lives of 11 miners
with another seven missing and feared dead. About 300 tons of coal erupted following the
gas explosion. The Hunan Province mine had received relevant production approval from the
county and municipal coal mine safety bureau. In the first quarter of 2002, a total of 745
accidents - resulting in the deaths of 1,182 people - have occurred. In April, 329 people
lost their lives in coal mine incidents around the country.
May 14, 2002 Brazilian Oil Company Petrobras Fined US$8 Million for Crude Spill
Environmental authorities imposed an $8 million fine on Petrobras after an oil spill near a
popular beach resort. According to the company, some 4,000 gallons of light crude oil spilled
into the ocean while a ship bringing oil from Nigeria was off-loading.
May 13, 2002 Lightning forces Deleware Refinery to Vent Acid Vapors
Sunoco Inc. restarted an open disposal burner near its Marcus Hook Refinery after lightning
knocked out an acid-waste recycling process at the neighbouring General Chemical Delaware
Valley Works. State officials estimated that the refinery flare had been emitting up to one
ton of sulfur dioxide an hour since the lightning struck. Breakdowns at the General
Chemical acid plant have forced the Sunoco refinery in Pennsylvania to pipe its gases to a
flare stack just across the Delaware border several times this year.
May 12, 2002 Washington Ammonia Leak Blamed on Thieves
About 1,500 people in homes and businesses were evacuated and several major roads were shut
down after an ammonia leak at a large food processing and storage plant. A hazardous
materials crew traced the leak to a valve on a 3,000 gallon ammonia tank, apparently opened
by thieves attempting to steal anhydrous ammonia. Three people complained of minor
breathing problems and headaches, but there were no serious injuries. According to the
Snohomish County Drug Task Force, anhydrous ammonia theft has been a growing problem in the
area for several years. The state Department of Ecology last year reported nearly 70
cleanups of methamphetamine-related spills.
May 12, 2002 Children to Blame for U.K. Peroxide Leak
Hydrogen peroxide spilled from a storage drum after the valve was opened, possibly by
children, in the loading bay area of a chemical handler. A fire department spokesman said:
"We know that some children had managed to get into the yard and it's possible that they
opened the valve."
May 10, 2002 Mexican Cyanide Truck Hijacked, Chemicals Missing
A truck carrying 96 barrels of sodium cyanide was hijacked by three armed
men. The driver told police that the hijackers took the truck because it was new, not because it was
carrying cyanide. Police found the truck five days later, but most of the cyanide was
missing.
May 8, 2002 Delaware Chemical Plant Leak Leads to Community Concern
An accident at the General Chemical Corp.'s Delaware Valley Works released a dense cloud of
sulfur trioxide and sulfuric acid mist. The environmental health & safety manager for
General Chemical, said 10-15 gallons of fluorosulfonic acid leaked from a drain line and
quickly began fuming. Workers were draining an out-of-service tank when a valve broke. When
they sprayed water on the chemical, it formed the cloud of corrosive sulfur trioxide and
sulfuric acid.
May 8, 2002 Georgian Oil Field Shutdown Blamed on Thieves
The Azeri International Operational Company (AIOC) was forced to shut down its 115,000
bbl/day offshore Chirag field after thieves broke into the Georgian section of the
pipeline, releasing about 15 barrels of oil over an area of one square
kilometer.
May 6, 2002 Malaysian Oil Spill Caused by Ship Engine Failure
The engine of the Dutch dredger Seaway stalled as it was making a turn. Although the anchor
was dropped to stop the ship from drifting, a sudden veering to the right caused it to
crash into a wharf at the oil refinery, owned by Shell Eastern Petroleum. The impact caused
the wharf's gantry and deck to collapse and ruptured a pipeline, allowing oil to spill into
the sea. No one was hurt in the accident. Shell's general manager for external affairs said
that the cost of repairs is expected to be significant.
May 5, 2002 Lightning Ignites Polish Oil Tank
A severe fire broke out at the Trzebinia Refinery after lightning struck a fuel tank
containing 800,000 liters of oil. Damage is estimated at about $2 million. The Trzebinia
facility is controlled by PKN Orlen.
May 4, 2002 Chinese Mine Floods, Kills 21
Twenty-one miners were killed in Yuncheng, Shanxi Provence, when an unlicensed mine was flooded by water mixed with gas. Two escaped.
A rescue operation launched on May 7 was not successful as water levels underground were as
high as 40 meters. The mine operators did not report the accident to the local government
and the mine had been operating illegally since it failed to obtain a production license
from the local government.
May 2, 2002 Malaysian Gas Plant Accident Kills 3
Three people died and four were injured as a result of a fire at the Petronas gas
processing plant. The victims, who were contract workers, were carrying out maintenance on
the high pressure flare line at the plant when the incident occurred.
May 1, 2002 Texas Chemical Plant Explosion Causes Evacuation
Pearland, south of Houston, TX. Third Coast Packaging Inc. where petrochemicals were
blended into products such as anti-freeze, brake fluid and motor oil, was destroyed in a
spectacular fire which appears to have begun with an explosion. About 100 people living
nearby were forced to temporarily evacuate their homes, but no one was hurt. The company
had more than 90 tanks on site, each holding up to 50,000 gallons of petroleum products.
April 29, 2002 Illinois Pipeline Leak Causes
Significant Spill
An estimated 125,000 gallons of crude oil escaped from a leaking 22-inch pipeline near the
Roxana Landfill. The spill occurred from a pipeline operated by Marathon Ashland Pipeline,
which owns it jointly with Equilon. A spokesman for the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency said some oil had migrated into nearby Indian Creek but most of the oil formed a
huge pool in an unplanted field near the landfill. Because of the volume of oil and muddy
conditions that have hampered more conventional clean-up techniques, authorities considered
conducting an "emergency burn" of the remaining crude oil pooling in the field, which was
approved by the state and the US Environmental Protection Agency. This idea was rejected
because of the number of people who would be affected. Instead, the crude oil and soil
mixture will be collected with vacuum trucks and moved to a non-hazardous waste site,
possibly next door at the Roxana Landfill.
April 24, 2002 Workers Exposed to Low Level Nuclear Gas during Maintenance
Tennessee Valley Authority officials said an accident at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant exposed
54 workers to radioactive gas, but posed no threat to anyone outside the facility. The
accident occurred as workers removed parts from the Unit 2 reactor, which had been shut
down for refueling. The workers had removed the top of the reactor to provide access and
as they removed a moisture separator, low-level radioactive gas was released. The incident
was so minor as to be below mandatory reporting levels.
April 23, 2002 Martinez Gas Leak Injures 1, Activates Alert System
Sulfur dioxide gas was accidentally released from a sulfur removal unit at Shell's 155,000
bbl/day oil refinery activating the Contra Costa County emergency system and bringing a
"shelter in place" warning. The release occurred after the unit was closed down for
maintenance work. It will not be restarted until the cause of the incident has been
determined. One employee was given first aid and reported back to work later.
April 23, 2002 Oil Spill in Kazakhstan Blamed on Negligence
About a ton of oil spilled from a Russian tanker into Kazakstan's section of the Caspian
Sea when stormy seas rocked an uncovered, overfilled oil tank. The Viktor Kibinok was
docked in the port of Aktyrau when rough weather caused oil to spill. The oil tank's hatch
was open and it was filled beyond capacity. A spokesman for the Emergency Situations
Ministry said the conclusion of a preliminary investigation into the reason for the
accident was unanimous: "negligence by the crew."
April 22, 2002 Pakistani Gas Plant Victim of Rocket Attack
Several rockets were fired at a state-owned gas well which caught fire. Engineers from the
state-run Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) and local authorities took an hour to
bring the blaze under control and begin repair work. No one has claimed responsibility for
over a dozen rocket attacks on gas fields in the last two months which, officials say, have
damaged four wells in Dera Bugti, an area where tribal chieftains often fight over the
benefits from gas exploration.
April 22, 2002 Chlorine Leak Prompts Evacuation of California Town
A chlorine leak at the city of Angel's Camp wastewater-treatment plant prompted a
precautionary evacuation order that remained in effect for several hours. The city also
evacuated workers from the nearby corporation yard. A hazardous materials team went inside
the treatment plant three times but were unable to stop the leak because of the high
concentration of chlorine gas inside. Workers had to remove the leaking tank before they
could cap it. No one was injured in the incident.
April 20, 2002 Alaskan Platform Fire Injures 4
A fire broke out on an oil platform in Cook Inlet, burning four workers. The platform
owner, Unocal, said its workers put out the blaze, which burned for about an hour. The fire
occurred while work was being done on one of the platform's 24 wells. Fifty-two people work
on the platform and a private boat evacuated 33 non-essential workers.
Sources and Disclaimer:
AcuSafe's Incident News Summary is primarily compiled from news wires, online
sources, 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.
All information accessed in this report is public domain information. We make no effort to independently corroborate the accuracy of the incident news stories.
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