1、 Domestic accidents

Petrochemical

"10 · 27" Explosion Accident of Heilongjiang Daqing Petrochemical Complex

On October 27, 2004, an explosion accident occurred in the sulfur recovery workshop of the refinery of Daqing Petrochemical Company, causing 7 deaths and 1.92 million yuan of economic loss. The direct cause of the accident is that the gas (hydrogen, hydrocarbons) in the raw water tank leaked from the root weld of the DN200 pipeline connected to it or the weld joint connecting to the tank roof cracked when the gas welder, under the guidance and cooperation of the production unit, was engaged in hot cutting at 0.8m from the exhaust line on the top of the raw water tank of the sour water stripping unit, and the explosion was caused by gas cutting open fire or splashed slag.

"10 · 22" LPG deflagration accident in Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Refinery

On October 22, 1988, a liquefied gas deflagration accident occurred in Xiaoliangshan spherical tank farm of the refinery of Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Corporation, resulting in 26 deaths and 15 burns. The direct cause of the accident was that the operators in the spherical tank area of the oil product workshop of the plant were opening the valve to dewater a liquefied spherical tank. The operators did not operate according to the regulations and dewatered while feeding, which led to the discharge of water and liquefied gas together. A large amount of liquefied gas escaped through the sewage pool, and the escaping liquefied gas spread with the wind. The fire was caused by the open fire in the heating furnace in the temporary shed outside the enclosure of the spherical tank farm.

Fine chemical industry

"10 · 22" explosion accident of Inner Mongolia Zhonggao Chemical Co., Ltd

On October 22, 2021, an explosion accident occurred in Inner Mongolia Zhonggao Chemical Co., Ltd. located in Alxa Hi tech Industrial Development Zone, causing 4 deaths and 3 injuries. The direct cause of the accident is that during the operation of the enterprise to deal with the blockage of the pipeline of the evaporation discharge pump, the magnetic circulation pump inhaled air, causing the material in the pump cavity (the mixture of 2-nitro-4-methylsulfonyltoluene and 2-nitro-4-methylsulfonylbenzoic acid) to cut off the flow, the material in the pump cavity decomposed and exploded in the presence of high temperature, causing the valve at the bottom of the oxidation evaporation tank to break, and the high-temperature material in the oxidation evaporation tank encountered an explosion residual open fire after venting, resulting in flash explosion and combustion.

"10 · 18" poisoning accident of Shandong Guangrao Runheng Chemical Co., Ltd

On October 18, 2013, a material leakage poisoning accident occurred in the pharmaceutical intermediate production workshop of Runheng Chemical Co., Ltd. in Guangrao County, Shandong Province, resulting in 3 deaths and a direct economic loss of about 2.706 million yuan. The direct cause of the accident was that the fluoride post operators operated against rules and did not wear necessary labor protection equipment. When the fluoridation kettle was under pressure, they used pipe tongs to fasten the valve cover of the closed stop valve. The thread of the stop valve gland was unstable and slippery, resulting in the spraying of materials containing hydrogen fluoride, which caused the accident.

"10 · 16" explosion accident of Zhejiang Changshan Insulation Materials Co., Ltd

On October 16, 2011, an explosion and combustion accident occurred in the glue making workshop of Zhejiang Changshan Insulation Materials Co., Ltd., causing 3 deaths and 3 injuries. The direct cause of the accident was that the temperature of the first reactor in the glue making workshop of the company was out of control, which caused the pressure inside the reactor to increase. The material exploded and flushed the cover of the feeding hole. Methanol steam mixed with air to form explosive mixed gas, which caused deflagration in case of sparks generated by the operation of non explosion proof electrical equipment in the workshop.

"10 · 22" Alcohol Distillation Kettle Explosion Accident of Jiangsu Nanjing Auxiliary Factory

On October 22, 1988, the alcohol distilling pot in antioxidant DBH workshop of Nanjing Auxiliary Factory in Jiangsu Province exploded due to overpressure, causing 4 deaths and 3 serious injuries. The direct cause of the accident was that the alcohol distiller began to extract materials and heat up after completing the preparatory work. Since the discharge valve of the alcohol distillation kettle was not opened, when the steam was opened to heat up, the alcohol distillation kettle changed from the normal pressure state to the pressure state, and the lid was flushed away. A large amount of alcohol steam was flushed out and mixed with air to form an explosive mixture, which exploded when encountering the fire source.

Fertilizer

"10 · 27" syngas space explosion accident in Wanquan County Fertilizer Plant, Hebei Province

On October 27, 1990, an explosion and fire accident occurred in the fertilizer plant in Wanquan County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, resulting in 5 deaths, 5 burns and 1.48 million yuan of economic losses. The direct cause of the accident was that the workers in the plant used a socket wrench to lengthen the lever arm to fasten the flange bolts for a long time, which led to the deformation of the outlet flange at the west side of 1 # circulating machine in the synthesis section of the combined workshop, the thread connecting the high-pressure U-tube and the flange fell off, and a large amount of high-pressure mixture (hydrogen, nitrogen) was ejected, causing space explosion and fire.

Organic chemical industry

"10 · 15" poisoning accident of Liaoning Chaoyang Jinyao Chemical Products Co., Ltd

On October 15, 2019, Liaoning Chaoyang Jinyao Chemical Products Co., Ltd. had a harmful gas leakage accident during equipment emergency repair, resulting in 3 deaths and 2 medical rescue. The direct cause of the accident is that the enterprise stopped production for environmental reasons, resumed production without the consent of the relevant regulatory authorities, carried out inspection and maintenance operations under the operating state of the equipment, and the employees directly opened the flange of the equipment in production without analyzing the safety risks, resulting in the leakage of toxic gas and materials and poisoning.

"10 · 19" poisoning and suffocation accident of Jiangsu Suopu Chemical Construction Engineering Co., Ltd

On October 19, 2015, when Jiangsu Suopu Chemical Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. was cleaning the vacuum flash tank in the gasification workshop of Jiangsu Suopu Group Co., Ltd.'s methanol plant, three personnel who were cleaning the ash in the tank died of poisoning and suffocation. The direct cause of the accident is that during the process of using tools to turn over the thick ash at the lower part of the tank, the operators caused chain self thermal reaction of ferrous sulfide in the ash, and the heat generated led to the oxidation of pulverized coal in the ash to produce carbon monoxide, at the same time, the residual sulfide in the ash was released, causing the construction personnel to be poisoned and suffocated.

"10 · 8" Explosion Accident of Jiangsu Huaiyin Organic Chemical Plant

On October 8, 1991, a high-pressure reactor explosion accident occurred in Huaiyin Organic Chemical Plant in Jiangsu Province, causing the collapse of the pilot scale laboratory and the death of three operators. The direct cause of the accident was that in the process of producing high molecular polyether with ethylene oxide and propylene oxide as raw materials, the operators violated the operating procedures, feeding too much at one time, resulting in too fast reaction speed and explosion.

"10 · 2" spraying material poisoning accident of Longsha Chemical Plant in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province

On October 2, 1989, during the trial production of Longsha Chemical Plant in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, a large amount of toxic gases and hot substances were ejected, causing 5 deaths and 2 injuries. The direct cause of the accident was that the factory purchased the production technology of methyl acrylate and put it into trial production without approval of the relevant departments, without trial production plan, without operating procedures and safety measures. Due to abnormal chemical reaction of materials, toxic gas and hot materials are ejected from the reactor in large quantities, causing accidents.

Inorganic chemical engineering

"10 · 3" poisoning accident of Hongyanwan Chemical Plant in Baokang County, Hubei Province

On October 3, 2013, a hydrogen sulfide poisoning accident occurred in the purification section of the yellow phosphorus workshop of Hongyanwan Chemical Plant of Hubei Yaozhihe Chemical Co., Ltd., resulting in 3 deaths, 5 injuries and a direct economic loss of 2.38 million yuan. The direct cause of the accident was that when the operators were cleaning the 5 # circulating tank, the hydrogen sulfide gas in the tank escaped, causing the operators to be poisoned by inhalation. The rescuers did not wear appropriate personal protective equipment, entered the tank blindly for rescue, and were poisoned one after another.

"October 11" poisoning accident of Shandong Yantai Kaishi Industry Co., Ltd

On October 11, 2007, the operator of the second material preparation workshop of Shandong Yantai Kaishi Industry Co., Ltd. was poisoned by hydrogen sulfide during the feeding process, resulting in five deaths. The direct cause of the accident was that the operator, in order to hurry up, added 1.5 tons of nickel sulfide concentrate powder to the leaching tank at one time when adding nickel sulfide concentrate powder to the No. 2 leaching tank. As a result, the absorption tower could not fully absorb the generated large amount of hydrogen sulfide gas, which led to tank overflow. The spilled hydrogen sulfide caused five deaths.

"10 · 15" sulfuric acid leakage accident of Shandong Qingdao Dongfang Chemical Co., Ltd

On October 15, 2005, Qingdao Dongfang Chemical Co., Ltd. had a sulfuric acid tank rupture accident, resulting in 6 deaths and 13 minor injuries. The direct cause of the accident was that the company designed and manufactured sulfuric acid storage tanks without design and construction qualification and design and construction capability. The construction is not in accordance with the specifications, the design is changed at will, the products are poorly manufactured, and the inspection, inspection and acceptance specifications are not implemented during the construction, resulting in unreasonable wall panel structure. A 1750m3 sulfuric acid storage tank was suddenly broken up and down during use, and more than 2800 tons of sulfuric acid in the tank leaked, leading to the accident.

"10 · 18" explosion accident of Hunan Zhuzhou Chemical Soda Branch

On October 18, 1988, an explosion accident occurred in Zhuzhou Chemical Soda Branch Plant in Hunan Province, causing 3 deaths and 2 injuries. The direct cause of the accident is that the trip of hydrogen pump caused a sudden drop in the flow of hydrogen chloride, which led to the imbalance of the ratio of chlorine to hydrogen in the hydrogen chloride synthesis furnace and the formation of hydrogen chloride containing excessive free chlorine. When the vinyl chloride synthesis operator adjusts the acetylene flow, the hydrogen chloride gas containing excessive free chlorine flows back to the pipe section of the acetylene control valve through the mixer, causing violent chemical reaction, resulting in a sharp increase in the pressure in the acetylene pipe and explosion and fire.

Medicine

"10 · 21" fire accident of Shandong Kenli Xinfa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd

On October 21, 2013, a fire accident occurred in Xinfa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in Kenli County, Shandong Province, causing 4 deaths and 1 injury. The direct cause of the accident was that the heat transfer oil pipeline outside the west wall of the vitamin B2 workshop of Xinfa Pharmaceutical (which had been closed for 1 month) was broken, the leaked high-temperature heat transfer oil ignited the packaging materials and finished products, and produced a large amount of smoke, which trapped five people who were performing insulation construction on the fourth floor platform, causing four deaths and one injury.

other

"10 · 15" explosion accident of Guangxi Yulin Lanke New Material Technology Co., Ltd

On October 15, 2019, an explosion accident occurred in Guangxi Lanke New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. located in the northern industrial concentration area of Luchuan County, Yulin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, causing 4 deaths and 8 injuries. As a foundry machinery manufacturing enterprise, the enterprise built chemical projects without authorization and blindly carried out trial production. In its resin workshop, a 10 cubic meter atmospheric reactor (the product is phenolic resin, and the main raw materials are phenol and paraformaldehyde) exploded suddenly during trial production.

"October 11" poisoning and suffocation accident of Shaanxi Hengxiang Biochemical Co., Ltd

On October 11, 2019, a poisoning asphyxiation accident occurred in the sewage treatment plant of Ankang Hengxiang Biochemical Co., Ltd. in Shaanxi Province, causing 6 deaths. The direct cause of the accident is that during the shutdown of the company, due to continuous rain, the workers of the sewage treatment plant accidentally fell into the flocculation mixing tank when checking it. After discovering the danger, the workmate sought help from five workers in the next factory. During the rescue, five people fell into the pool and suffocated.

"October 13" asphyxiation accident of Xishui Lantian United Gas Co., Ltd. in Hubei Province

On October 13, 2015, a asphyxiation accident occurred in Hubei Xishui Lantian United Gas Co., Ltd., causing 3 deaths and a direct economic loss of about 1.6 million yuan. The direct cause of the accident was that the drilling operation required water. Two constructors brought water pumps, lifted two cement cover plates at the entrance of the sump at the foundation tank of the sealed storage tank without authorization, and prepared to take water from the sump at the bottom of the storage tank. A large amount of nitrogen discharged from the equipment operation entered the foundation tank of the storage tank through the blind ditch (the nitrogen content was up to 95%), and two people fainted and suffocated when inhaled high concentration nitrogen. Another employee of the company drowned in the process of looking for someone.

"10 · 8" major explosion accident of Shandong Boxing Chengli Gas Supply Co., Ltd

On October 8, 2013, a major explosion accident occurred in the production and operation of thin oil sealed dry gas holder of Chengli Gas Supply Co., Ltd. in Boxing County, Shandong Province, resulting in 10 deaths, 33 injuries and a direct economic loss of 32 million yuan. The direct cause of the accident is that during the operation of the gas holder of the company, the viscosity of the sealing oil was reduced, the piston inclination exceeded the process requirements, resulting in a large amount of leakage of the sealing oil, the oil level dropped, and the piston sealing system failed, resulting in the gas escaping from the lower space of the piston to the upper space of the piston, mixing with the air to form explosive mixed gas, which exploded when encountering the ignition source.

2、 Foreign accidents

Fire and explosion accident of BASF Chemical Plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany

On October 17, 2016, a fire and explosion accident occurred in the chemical plant of BASF headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany, resulting in 2 deaths, 6 serious injuries and 2 disappearances. The death toll rose to 5 in the following year. The explosion first occurred on a supply line connecting the port and the oil depot in Ludwig Port, and then the fire spread to other equipment. The fire also led to the closure of the adjacent steam cracking unit. The direct cause of the accident: the contractor's personnel cut the wrong pipe when using the angle grinder to cut the pipe, and the sparks generated by the cutting ignited the residual butene mixture in the pipe, causing explosion and fire.

Deflagration accident of natural gas treatment plant in Louisiana, USA

On October 8, 2015, a burning explosion accident occurred in Gibson Wellhead Natural Gas Treatment Plant affiliated to the transcontinental natural gas pipeline transportation company of Williams Partners near Homa Town, Louisiana, USA, resulting in four deaths and one serious burn of the maintenance contractor's employees. The cause of the accident was that a mucus trap under repair (a tank used to separate liquid and impurities from the natural gas stream) had pipe rupture and leakage, which led to explosion and fire. The fire continued to burn for nearly 3 hours.

Fire and explosion accident of Lichuan ABS resin plant in South Korea

On October 4, 1989, a fire and explosion accident occurred in the ABS resin factory of Korea Happiness Company in Lichuan, resulting in 14 deaths, more than 20 injuries and a direct economic loss of about 3 billion won. A few hours before the accident, a large amount of powdered resin leaked from the canvas covered on the upper part of an extruder. At the same time, the powdered resin enters between the extruder hood and the electric heater, contacts with the electric heater, and is heated and decomposed by the surface of the electric heater to produce combustible gas. The combustible gas generated diffuses to the first and second floors, causing continuous explosion.

Source: Emergency Management Department of the People's Republic of China