On August 6, 1999, Employees #1 through #5 were present during a transfer operation involving sodium hypochlorite. A chemical reaction occurred between the sodium hypochlorite and an incompatible chemical, causing the tank to erupt. Employee #1 was killed. Employees #2 through #5 sustained injuries, for which Employees #2 and #3 were hospitalized.
Source:OSHA.gov
The resin plant was a six-story, open-sided structure, approximately 100 feet wide and 400 feet long, which sat approximately 50 feet east of the phosgene plant. A street separated the two plants, but they were connected physically by a pipe rack, which held phosgene-conveying pipes. On May 22, 1996, a number of employees were working on the second-floor mezzanine of the resin plant, removing a caustic line so that they could install a heat exchanger for the caustic scrubber system. While they were working, low levels of phosgene vented back through the caustic line. After the phosgene release was detected, the employees evacuated the resin plant. The company did not provide emergency escape respirators for the employees in the resin plant, and none of the employees who evacuated the plant were wearing respirators. After evacuation, the on-site physician examined 11 employees and referred them to a hospital where they were examined further and provided prophylactic treatment. Eight employees stayed overnight for observation and were released the next day.
Source:OSHA.gov
During batch production of bifenthrin, gases are normally released in the reactor vessel and are delivered by a closed system to an acid gas scrubber for neutralization with sodium hydroxide. This scrubber failed because the sodium hydroxide feed line clogged, releasing a plume that was probably a mixture of hydrochloric acid and sulfur dioxide gases. The plume was blown across the facility, including the chemical laboratory where technicians and supervisors were working. The chem lab's own HVAC system pulled some of the plume into the building, driving out the five technicians and one supervisor, who were choking, coughing, and having difficulty breathing. Two employees had been walking to a job site and had encountered the same plume. The plant nurse had been alerted and administered oxygen until the ambulances arrived and took Employees #1 through #8 to local hospitals. The employer had extensive written emergency response and evacuation procedures that are practiced six times a year, and designated employees are given emergency response training (emergency respirator use, confined space entry, acid spill containment) weekly. No violations were noted with procedures or responses.
Source:OSHA.gov
