[Haichuan Chemical Accident Updates] 20170615: Leakage in hydrolysis concentrated acid tank in Jieyou, Shanxi – containment completed
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Report from Taiyuan, Shanxi, China, June 15 (Reporter: Yue Xuhui; Correspondent: Han Rui) An accident involving a leak from a tank containing concentrated acid occurred this morning in Jieyou City, Shanxi Province, and local firefighters successfully carried out operations to seal the leak.
When the soldiers arrived at the scene, a pungent, suffocating smell hit them. As soon as I stepped in, I immediately felt short of breath and unable to breathe. The soldiers even experienced severe nausea. According to the on-site inspection, the leak was a strong acid that is highly corrosive and is also the source of the pungent odor. The officers and soldiers immediately put on heavy chemical protective suits, endured the pungent smell and feelings of nausea as they headed to the site of the leak to handle the situation. Since the leak occurred at the bottom of an 800-cubic-meter tank with a hole diameter of about 6 centimeters, the pressure of the liquid was extremely high. In response to this situation, the Jiexiu Squadron and the Yi’an Professional Fire Brigade formed a 4-member rescue team, which used adhesive sealing tools, wooden sealing tools, and binding sealing tools to seal the leaking tank.
A tribute to the heroic firefighters! ! !
The four people first tried to seal the leak using adhesive-based sealing tools, but after several attempts, they found that the flange valve at the hole could not be properly sealed by these tools due to long-term corrosion. Subsequently, the soldiers switched to wooden sealing tools to stop the leak. However, due to the excessive pressure in the tank, the inserted seal blocks cannot be properly fixed, so the effect remains limited.
The work to seal the leaks keeps running into obstacles, yet no more time can be lost. The officers and soldiers decided to change the method of sealing the leak again, using binding-type sealing equipment to firmly secure the area that needed to be sealed. After 10 minutes of intense rescue efforts, the leak was successfully sealed. By the time the soldiers took off their chemical protection suits, they were drenched in sweat; having inhaled some pungent gases during the rescue operation, they kept coughing non-stop. Subsequently, the soldiers used shovels to spread strong alkali to neutralize the strong acid that had leaked at the scene, and covered the area with lime powder. After the rescue operation was completed, since the soldiers had entered the area where leaks were being sealed and were in direct contact with strong acids, their bodies were covered in large amounts of these acids. As a result, the soldiers who participated in the rescue went to the temporary decontamination area set up by their unit, where they were sprayed with water from water guns to clean their entire bodies. At 15:23, the soldiers returned to their unit successfully.
Yes, we must pay tribute to the heroic firefighters.
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