June 21, 2011

Reactor Blast kills two

A reactor blast at a unit in Ankleshwar has killed two persons. Times Of India reports that "R S Ninama, additional district magistrate of Bharuch, said, "Preliminary investigations have found that the blast was caused by overheating of the reactor. The industrial safety department will investigate the accident and find out if safety has been compromised".
While I am not speculating on the cause of the incident, ensure that you are aware of the following:
Reactive chemical incidents are on the increase. Reasons are attributed to:
1. Lack of knowledge on process chemistry
2. Lack of knowledge on designing relief and vent systems
More and more companies are relying on in house R & D to develop new products. Unless you have a good system of ensuring that process safety is taken care of during the scale up from R & D to pilot plant and manufacturing plant, a disaster is waiting to happen.

Read the article about the incident in this link.

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