Explosion and fire in UK factory & Oil Godown in Chennai

Thanks to Abhay Gujar for sending the following news:
An explosion at a Stiller’s toiletries factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham that was followed by a large fire. Cause of the fire is not known.See the youtube video in this link.

A rocket firecracker was the source of ignition of a fire in an oil Godown in Chennai, India. The astray firecracker was part of the Diwali festival celebrations! There are many oil storage facilities in India which are very close to populated areas and there is every chance of an accidental source of ignition. Read more of the fire in this link.

The Dangers of Hot Work

The Department of Labour has published booklet on hot work from which I have taken these incidents:
"An engineer was killed when a 6000-litre tank exploded when he lit a welding torch to repair a seam in the tank. The tank was moved 30 metres in the explosion, and an observer who was standing 2 metres away was thrown to the ground by the blast. The tank had been flushed with water for three days prior to the explosion but this did not remove all the explosive substances.
• A worker was attempting to remove the lid of a 200-litre container that had previously contained lacquer thinners. The drum, which had both bungs in place when the worker applied heat to the lid, hit the roof of the building 6 metres up. The worker received bruising to his hand.
• While removing a cleaning bung from a 70-litre stainless steel boat fuel tank, a worker passed a heated soldering iron over the bung hole. The petrol fumes ignited, throwing the worker on the floor.
• A worker, who had a few moments spare time, began cutting a 200-litre drum to makes a barbecue. He was unaware of the contents of the drum, which exploded when the torch began the cut. He received minor injuries in the incident.
• A worker passed a gas torch to his colleague over the open lid of a bitumen tank, causing an explosion. The worker, who was on top of the tank, received 10% burns to his face and left hand and his leg was broken in three places. The worker on the other side of the tank escaped injury.
• A welding contractor was attempting to fit a tap into a 5000 litre tank. A cut had been started in one end of the tank when it exploded. The tank was turned around and
flipped over. The opposite end of the tank was blown approximately 42 metres, soaring over a stand of trees 12 metres high and landing in a vacant section. The contractor received cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder, injuries to his collar bone and severe bruising all oyer the body.
There has been no let-up in accidents and many more examples could be given. Remember, all accidents of this type are potentially fatal. Don’t let it happen to you!"
See the booklet in this link(pdf file)

Detecting the spark that causes fires and explosions

An article mentions that German scientists developed a new method to prevent explosions due to electrical sparks.
"In most cases, a spectacular accident must first occur in order to make the public aware of a problem that lurks continually in many areas of industry: the danger of explosions due to electrical sparks. The simplest method to prevent such explosions is called "Intrinsic Safety". The intention thereby is to prevent ignitable sparks from even being created. Up to now, this has only been possible with small devices having a power of up to approx. 2 Watts - thus, above all, in process measuring and control technique.
A new concept that has been developed at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in cooperation with industrial partners, increases this limit now up to 50 Watts and thus makes application possible in many more technical fields. The technology which is already being marketed under the name "Power-i"/DART and which is to be launched as an international IEC standard, promises the industry great cost savings".
"For a long time now, end users and manufacturers have wanted a considerably higher active power while at the same time keeping all the positive characteristics of Intrinsic Safety. And this is exactly what the new "Power-i"/DART technology offers. DART here stands for "Dynamic Arc Recognition and Termination".
"Power-i is different from previous concepts", states Udo Gerlach, the project leader at PTB. "The principle of an emergency shutdown is just as simple as it is effective." The safety-related validated, intelligent monitoring system recognizes a spark already while it is forming and then shuts down the system in a controlled and quick manner, before the spark can even become ignitable. "Thus, complex, expensive constructural safety measures can now be replaced with the new technology".
Read the full article in this link.

What went wrong - the BP oil rig disaster

For those of you who are interested in what went wrong in the BP oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, see this excellent article.

A+B=**** Hazards of incompatibility

An article mentions the following:
"Last month, an unsuspecting contractor was delivering chemicals to a water treatment plant in Andover, Minn., when he accidentally poured fluorine into a chlorine tank. A chemical reaction was triggered, releasing hazardous fumes and causing the facility to be evacuated. Luckily, the worker only sustained minor injuries and the plant was back in operation just a few hours later, but more serious, and perhaps deadly, consequences could have easily resulted from this simple mistake".
See the full article in this link.
FOR MY READERS FROM INDIA, WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A VERY HAPPY DIWALI!