This article is republished from: Ministry of Emergency Management
I. Typical accidents in January 2023
Liaoning Province, Panjin Hao Ye Chemical Co.
At 13:25 on January 15, 2023, Panjin City, Liaoning Province, Panshan County, Haoye Chemical Co., Ltd. alkylation device maintenance process occurred during the explosion and fire, resulting in a total of 13 deaths, 35 people were injured. After preliminary investigation, the direct cause of the accident is: alkylation device alkaline washing materials (mainly composed of isobutane, n-butane, alkylated oil, etc.) pipeline in the pressure plugging burst, a large number of material leakage, met with static electricity or open flame triggered an explosion and fire. The exact cause of the accident is under further investigation.
II. Historical hazardous chemical accidents in February
(i) Domestic accidents
petrochemicals
Songyuan Petrochemical Company Limited Jiangnan plant "2-17" flash explosion accident
February 17, 2017, Songyuan City, Jilin Province, Songyuan Petrochemical Co., Ltd. Jiangnan plant in the gasoline and diesel fuel reforming joint unit of acidic water tanks in the implementation of the fire operation process flash explosion accidents, resulting in three deaths. The immediate cause of the accident is: the accident enterprise resumed work after the Spring Festival, the organisation of the new device test run, in the absence of detection and analysis of combustible gases in the acidic water tanks, gas welding and cutting operations on the top of the tanks, resulting in a flash explosion of combustible gases in the acidic water tanks at the explosion limit (the main constituent is hydrogen).
Daqing Oilfield Limited Liability Company "2-20" asphyxiation accident
On 20 February 2006, a nitrogen asphyxiation accident occurred during the overhaul of the water-seal tank of the flare system of the ammonia synthesis unit of the Daqing Petroleum Administration Chemical Group Methanol Branch, resulting in three deaths. The immediate cause of the accident was that the operator, when checking the leakage of the freeze blockage of the associated heat pipes of the flare system, found that there was water in the pit of the water seal tank, and without knowing what medium was in the tank or testing and analysing it, he entered the water seal tank of the horizontal flame arrester, and inhaled nitrogen gas used for purging and suffocated. The two guardians at the manhole entered the tank blindly without taking any protective measures to save people, which ultimately led to the death of three people by asphyxiation.
Liaoning Province Liaoyang Petrochemical Olefin Plant "2-23" Explosion Accident
On 23 February 2002, an explosion occurred in the polyethylene plant of Liaoyang Petrochemical Olefin Plant in Liaoning Province during the process of reconstruction and expansion of the plant, resulting in 8 deaths, 1 serious injury, 18 minor injuries and a direct economic loss of 4,527,800 yuan. The immediate cause of the accident was that the polyethylene system was not operating normally and the pressure rose, causing the poor quality glass sight glass to rupture, and a large amount of ethylene gas was spewed out and sucked into the boiling bed dryer by the induced draft fan, mixing with the polyethylene powder and hot air, and was detonated by the static electricity generated in the process of the boiling of the polyethylene powder.
Liaoning Fushun Petrochemical Company Petroleum Plant No. 2 "2-21" Poisoning Accident
On 21 February 1993, a hydrogen sulphide poisoning accident occurred at the South Catalytic Cracking Unit of the Fushun Petrochemical Company's Petroleum Plant No. 2, resulting in the poisoning of 13 people, 4 of whom died. The immediate cause of the accident was that the operator, when carrying out antifreeze and liquid discharge treatment on the relevant pipelines, did not close the valves on the pipelines, i.e., he opened the pump outlet valves and condensate discharge valves to discharge the liquid, and after the discharge of the acidic water in the feed line was completed, the hydrogen sulphide in the stripper tower was discharged through the feed line and discharged from the condensate discharge valves of the pumps, which rapidly filled the entire pump room, resulting in the poisoning of 4 persons in the changing room of the pump room, and the poisoning of 9 persons of varying degrees of severity in the course of the rescue process.
coal chemical
Shaanxi Shuangyi Coal Chemical Technology Industry Co., Ltd. "2-22" flash explosion accident
On 22 February 2022, a flash explosion occurred in the plant of Shaanxi Double Wing Coal Chemical Technology and Industry Co., Ltd, resulting in three deaths. After preliminary investigation and analysis, the direct cause of the accident is: the company in the third phase of the orchid charcoal plant (a new device trial run) No. 6 Vinzel's tower debugging found that the top of the leaks, welding due to the presence of flammable and explosive gases inside the tower triggered a flash explosion, resulting in the three operators from the work surface fell.
fine chemicals
2-11" explosion at Liaoning Huludao Liaoning Xianda Agricultural Science Co. Ltd.
On 11 February 2020, an explosion occurred in the raw material chlorinated allylamine storage tank (3m³) of Liaoning Senta Agricultural Science Co., Ltd. during the trial production process, resulting in 5 deaths and 10 injuries. The direct cause of the accident was that the operator of the allyl ketone section did not check the material and incorrectly added propionyltriacontanone to the chlorinated allyl amine storage tank, which led to the reaction between propionyltriacontanone and chlorinated allyl amine inside the tank, exothermic and accumulating heat, and the temperature of the material gradually increased, which ultimately led to the decomposition of the material and the explosion.
Shandong Linyi Jinshan Chemical Co., Ltd. "2-3" large explosive accident
On 3 February 2018, a large deflagration accident occurred in the benzaldehyde production workshop of Linyi Jinshan Chemical Co., Ltd. located in the Chemical Park of Linshu County Economic Development Zone, Linyi City, Shandong Province, resulting in five deaths, five injuries and direct economic losses of more than 17.7 million yuan. The immediate cause of the accident is: tetramethylsilane (TMS) and chlorine gas to generate chloromethyltrimethylsilane (C-43) reaction is exothermic reaction, the reaction process is not cooled in time to reduce the temperature, resulting in the reaction out of control, resulting in a large number of tetramethylsilane (TMS) in the kettle rapid gasification, the pressure rises dramatically, the tetramethylsilane and other materials, such as the spray, and mixed with the air to form an explosive mixture of gases, the ignition source of deflagration and trigger the chain of explosions. and trigger a chain explosion.
Inner Mongolia Alxa League Lixin Chemical Co., Ltd. "2-21" explosion accident
On 21 February 2017, a reactor explosion occurred in the p-nitroaniline workshop of Lixin Chemical Co., Ltd. in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia, resulting in two deaths and four injuries. The direct cause of the accident is that the accident enterprise resumed production without permission on 17 February under the situation of incomplete emergency power supply, and on 20 February, due to heavy snow, the industrial park where the enterprise is located had a total power outage, and due to the lack of emergency power supply, the reaction kettles in the p-nitroaniline workshop could not be cooled down and cooled down, and one of them exploded due to the over-temperature and over-pressure of the reaction kettle.
Shandong Province Guanxian Xinrui Industrial Co., Ltd. "2-8" flash explosion accident
On 8 February 2015, Shandong Liaocheng City Guanxian Xinrui Industrial Co., Ltd. had a flash explosion during the shutdown and maintenance process, resulting in 3 deaths, 5 injuries, and a direct economic loss of 3.5889 million yuan. The immediate cause of the accident is: overhaul operations, alcohol workshop on the mash tower as a whole steam blowing replacement is not complete, not completely isolated from the mash tower connected to the process facilities, residual alcohol vapour or mash fermentation methane gas in the mash tower and the formation of explosive mixtures with the air, overhaul personnel using non-explosion-proof tools to dismantle and delivery of the tower plate, tools and the tower plate, the tower plate, the plate or the plate and the wall of the tower collision sparks, resulting in mash The collision between the tools and the plate or between the plate and the wall of the tower caused a flash explosion in the upper space of the tower, which led to the drop of the defoamer plate at the top of the mash tower, injuring the operator on the 20m platform and causing him to fall.
Hebei Zhaoxian Kerr Chemical Co., Ltd. "2-28" explosion
On 28 February 2012, an explosion occurred at Hebei Zhaoxian Kerr Chemical Co., Ltd., resulting in 29 deaths, 46 injuries and a direct economic loss of 44.59 million yuan. The direct cause of the accident was the leakage of heat-conducting oil from the discharge valve at the bottom of the reactor kettle, which was accompanied by heat-conducting oil, resulting in a localised heating of the reaction products guanidine nitrate and ammonium nitrate in the kettle, which led to an explosion.
Jiangsu Tianyin Chemical Co., Ltd. "2-24" explosion accident
On 24 February 2005, an explosion occurred in the reaction kettle of glycol dimethyl ether at Jiangsu Tianyin Chemical Co., Ltd., resulting in 6 deaths and 11 injuries. The immediate cause of the accident was that the dosing rate of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether was too fast, leading to a sharp rise in temperature and pressure in the reactor, which was discovered by the operator, who took the wrong emergency disposal measures by opening the gate valve on the solid feeding port of the reactor, and the hydrogen in the reactor was rushed out at high speed from the mouth of the gate valve, and was detonated by the static spark generated by the high-speed airflow.
The "2-9" explosion at Qingyang Chemical Plant, Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, China
On 9 February 1991, an explosion occurred in the TNT production line of the second branch of the Qingyang Chemical Plant in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, resulting in 17 deaths, 13 serious injuries, 94 minor injuries and a direct economic loss of 20 million yuan. The immediate cause of the accident was an internal leak in the nitric acid charging valve, which shifted the reaction backward, causing the incompletely reacted nitrate to continue to react after entering the separator, thus causing the separator to catch fire, which, as it spread, led to the explosion.
organic chemical
Zhongyuan Dahua Group Co., Ltd. "2-23" asphyxiation accident
On 23 February 2008, a nitrogen asphyxiation accident occurred in the production preparation process of a new 300,000-tonne methanol project of the Zhongyuan Dahua Group Co., Ltd. in Puyang City, Henan Province, resulting in the deaths of three people and the injury of one person. The direct cause of the accident was: when debugging the control system of the nitrogen storage tank, the solenoid valve on the connecting pipeline acted wrongly, causing the nitrogen in the tank to be strung into the nitrogen pipeline of the lower expansion section of the coal ash filter, plus one of the two valves of the nitrogen pipeline was not closed, and the other valve was not closed tightly with the construction remnants inside the valve memory, which led to nitrogen being strung into the coal ash filter. In the absence of effective isolation of the operating equipment, analysis of the oxygen content in the operating vessel and a permit to enter a restricted space, the operator entered the ash filter to carry out descaling work, resulting in nitrogen asphyxiation.
inorganic chemical
Xinjiang Yihua Chemical Co., Ltd. "2-12" Calcium Carbide Furnace Spraying Accident
At about 2:59 a.m. on 12 February 2017, a calcium carbide furnace spraying accident occurred at Xinjiang Yihua Chemical Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Hubei Yihua Group, resulting in two deaths, three serious injuries and five minor injuries. The direct cause of the accident is: due to water leakage of water-cooled equipment in the calcium carbide furnace, the material surface of the lime in contact with water powdered slate, the formation of water and material layer of poor permeability, the site personnel to deal with the material layer of improper measures, the accumulation of water and the high temperature of the molten calcium carbide reacted violently to produce a large number of flammable gases (acetylene, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, water gas, etc.) in contact with the air to explode, triggering calcium carbide furnace spewing material.
Gansu Baiyin Lefu Chemical Co., Ltd. "2-16" poisoning accident
On 16 February 2012, a hydrogen sulphide poisoning accident occurred at Baiyin Lefu Chemical Co., Ltd. in Baiyin City, Gansu Province, resulting in three deaths. The company uses diphosphorus pentasulphide and three mixed cresols to react to produce No. 25 black powder, and the hydrogen sulphide gas produced by the reaction is absorbed by the lye pool through the vacuum system. However, at the time of the incident, the company's reactor vacuum equipment was damaged and out of service, and the operator was wearing a filtering gas mask and risking his own life. Hydrogen sulphide gas leaked from the stirring shaft seal of the reactor and caused one person's death, and other personnel did not wear any labour protective equipment and blindly rescued the person, which led to the expansion of the accident.
Guizhou Kaiyang Phosphorus City Yellow Phosphorus Plant "2-16" Conversion Pot Explosion Accident
On 16 February 2000, an explosion occurred in the No. 1 conversion pot of the red phosphorus workshop of the Kaiyang Phosphorus City Yellow Phosphorus Plant in Guizhou Province, resulting in three deaths and two minor injuries. The direct cause of the accident was that the operator on duty did not control the temperature properly and warmed up faster, which caused violent reaction in the conversion pot, and a large amount of yellow phosphorus and red phosphorus overflowed, resulting in the blockage of the exhaust pipe and the explosion of the conversion pot due to the holding pressure.
fertiliser
Hubei Province, Zhijiang City, Fu Sheng Chemical Co.
On 19th February 2015, an ammonium nitrate explosion accident occurred in the trial production process of the nitro compound fertiliser construction project of Zhijiang Fusheng Chemical Co., Ltd. in Hubei Province, resulting in 5 deaths, 2 injuries and a direct economic loss of 4,692,800 yuan. The direct cause of the accident is: North Tower 1 # mixing tank material temperature for a long time higher than the upper limit of the process control procedures, resulting in thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate, the highest temperature of 630 ℃, resulting in 1 # and 2 # mixing tanks one after another, slurry flow to the 100.5m layer and 96m layer of the platform, the combustion explosion occurred.
Hebei Xinglong County Fertiliser Plant "2-13" Explosion Accident
On 13 February 1995, a combustible gas explosion occurred in the decarburisation section of the Xinglong County Fertiliser Plant in Hebei Province, resulting in four deaths, one minor injury and a direct economic loss of more than 800,000 yuan. The direct cause of the accident is: the plant for overhaul corrosion leakage of solvent cooler tubes, belonging to the pressure vessel solvent cooler hole welding. After the cooler was put into operation, the open part suddenly fell off from the weld as a whole, resulting in a large amount of flammable and explosive media instantly leaking, sprayed into the decarbonisation plant, and exploded when it met the ignition source.
The "2-17" poisoning and asphyxiation accident at the methylamine branch of Hunan Yueyang Nitrogenous Fertiliser Factory
On 17 February 1994, a poisoning accident occurred at the methylamine branch of the Hunan Yueyang Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant, resulting in three deaths, four injuries and a direct economic loss of approximately 1.57 million yuan. The direct cause of the accident was that the methylamine plant did not replace the metal-coated asbestos gaskets with metal-wound gaskets for the low-temperature heat exchangers as required by the drawings. After the heat exchanger was put into operation, the newly replaced gasket was broken by the internal pressure, and the mixture of liquid ammonia and methanol spewed out and spread, resulting in a poisoning accident.
(ii) Accidents abroad
Poisoning from a spill at Meghmani Organic Chemicals in India
On 2 February 2013, a toxic gas leak occurred at Meghmani Organic Chemicals in Ankleshwar Industrial Park, Gujarat, India, resulting in three deaths. The immediate cause of the accident was that when the unit was disposing of acrylonitrile and carbon tetrachloride, due to the operator's improper temperature control, a violent reaction occurred and a large amount of toxic gas leaked out from the gasket of the reactor, and the three workers died of acrylonitrile gas poisoning by inhalation. And the investigation showed that the device was not equipped with temperature self-control valve.