【Haichuan Chemical Accident Update】Pipeline leak and fire in the refining unit of a PTA plant at a company in Daxie, Ningbo
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At around 16:10 on April 30, 2020, a pipe in one of the facilities at Ningbo Liwan New Materials Company ruptured, causing a fire. Upon receiving the report, emergency management agencies, fire rescue services, and police forces at both the city and district levels rushed to the scene to carry out rescue operations. By 18:40, the fire had been extinguished, and the cause of the incident is under investigation. The Office of the Ningbo Work Safety Committee issued a report titled \"Notice from the Office of the Ningbo Work Safety Committee regarding the ‘4.30’ fire accident at Ningbo Liwan New Materials Co., Ltd.\" stating that a fire broke out in the refining unit of the PTA plant at Ningbo Liwan New Materials Co., Ltd. in the Daxie Development Zone, resulting in the death of 2 people on site.
Recently, the Ministry of Emergency Management issued a notice requiring that, in the context of regular pandemic prevention and control efforts, efforts be made to carry out drills related to emergency plans for natural disasters and work safety in 2020, so as to effectively enhance the capacity to prevent and respond to emergencies. The notice requires that all regions should firmly enhance their sense of responsibility and urgency, scientifically analyze the risks associated with natural disasters as well as the situation regarding work safety in their respective areas, and carry out comprehensive emergency drills that involve multiple departments, industries, and regions in those areas or sectors where risks and hazards are concentrated ； It is necessary to organize the exercises in a scientific and thorough manner to enhance their effectiveness. The selection of exercises, the participants, and the organizational structure should be based on real-world scenarios and focus on practical outcomes, so as to fully assess the emergency response and handling capabilities of various relevant regions and departments, as well as various specialized rescue forces ； It is necessary to carry out proper summary and evaluation efforts; based on the shortcomings identified during the drills as well as the issues found through such evaluations, corrective measures should be formulated, relevant plans improved in a timely manner, and emergency preparedness enhanced.
Around 2:14 p.m. on February 6, 2017, a fire broke out in the chemical industry park in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province. A 40-second video provided by a witness shows thick smoke at the scene. The witness said in the video that the company where the fire broke out was Jiangsu Huar Chemical Co., Ltd. On the afternoon of the 6th, The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) learned from a responsible official at the Publicity Department of Guannan County Party Committee in Lianyungang that the company where the fire broke out was Jiangsu Jiamai Chemical Co., Ltd., and not Jiangsu Wahua Chemical Co., Ltd. as claimed by witnesses. The relevant official stated that the fire was caused by a leak of heat transfer oil from Jiamai Company’s heat transfer oil furnace; at temperatures of 400 to 500 degrees Celsius, the oil came into contact with air and caught fire, but there was no explosion and no casualties. Firefighters arrived later and put out the fire; it was a minor fire. Regarding the specific details such as the time of the fire, the cause of the heat transfer oil leak, and the subsequent actions taken, the relevant official said that the results might not be available until February 7, and the media will be informed as soon as they are available. Heat transfer oil is a type of specialized oil with good thermal stability, used for the indirect transfer of heat. It features uniform heating, accurate temperature control, the ability to generate high temperatures at low steam pressures, excellent heat transfer efficiency, energy savings, as well as ease of transportation and operation. According to an EHS environmental health and safety consultant from a globally renowned company, due to its relatively high flash point and ignition point, it will not catch fire under permissible temperature conditions or in enclosed environments. However, after a leak, it may undergo a combustion reaction with oxygen under high-temperature conditions. According to him, generally speaking, the reasons for leaks in the ‘piping systems’ used for heat transfer oil include pipe cracking under normal pressure conditions and pipe bursting under excessive pressure conditions; these issues all arise from a lack of necessary ‘inspection’ and maintenance of the heat transfer oil piping systems. Although some heat transfer oil pipelines meet the standards for pressure pipelines in special equipment (in terms of pressure and diameter), they still require special management, inspection, and maintenance in accordance with the relevant technical specifications.
This post was last edited by Dedication on 2020-5-6 17:25: The main pipeline broke, causing the heat transfer oil heating pipe to catch fire