Investigation report on Ammonia gas leak

A few posts back, I had written about the ammonia gas leak in a Bangladesh DAP plant that affected many. The district administration's investigation has determined the following:

• The company constructed the 500-tonnes reserve tank in 2006.The tank was filled with 250 tonnes of ammonia gas when it collapsed on the night of Aug 22.
•  Tank was maintained by unskilled staff. Five essential safety equipment, that were needed to prevent the tank’s collapse, had been out of commission for a long time.“The two pressure gauges of the tank were out of order long before the accident took place. Both the pressure transmitters of the reserve tank were inoperative. The condenser, safety valves and pressure vent were also out of order,” said the investigator. 
•  The factory’s operation department had informed the maintenance department about the faults but they did not pay heed
• The gas spread far and wide so rapidly because the fire hydrant system of the fertliser factory did not work after the accident.”

Read the article on the investigation in this link.

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