Historical hazardous chemical accidents that occurred in December

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Domestic accidents: The \"12•1\" vinyl chloride leakage and explosion accident at Zhangjiakou Resin Factory. On December 1, 1991, an explosion occurred in the polymerization section of the polyvinyl chloride resin workshop at Zhangjiakou Resin Factory in Hebei Province, resulting in 5 deaths and 8 injuries. The direct cause of the accident was the substandard quality of the steel used to manufacture the flanges; cracks appeared along the circumference of the connection flanges between the high-level tank and the pipeline transporting vinyl chloride monomer to the polymerization reactor, resulting in the leakage of large amounts of vinyl chloride monomer and a subsequent explosive reaction in that space. Furthermore, the polymerization plant was built of brick rather than being an explosion-proof structure, failing to meet safety requirements and contributing to the escalation of the accident. The explosion caused by the leakage of materials from a reactor at the Guizhou Organic Chemical Plant Research Institute on December 2: On December 2, 1992, an explosion occurred in the testing workshop of the Guizhou Organic Chemical Plant Research Institute while developing floor adhesives; the increase in temperature during testing led to loss of control over the reaction, resulting in 4 deaths and many injuries. The direct cause of the accident was that, during operation, failure to raise the temperature and add materials in accordance with the procedures led to a rapid increase in system temperature and pressure, resulting in exothermic polymerization. This caused the flammable materials inside the reactor to burst out through the manhole cover; sparks were generated as the manhole cover flew outward and collided with other objects, triggering an explosion in the space containing the explosive mixture. The “12•2” explosion at Boxing Lubricants Factory in Shandong Province: On December 2, 1996, an explosion occurred in the catalysis workshop of Boxing Lubricants Factory in Shandong Province while plates were being installed during a shutdown for maintenance; this incident resulted in 5 deaths and 4 injuries. The direct cause of the accident was: the steam cleaning time of the tower was too short, allowing residual combustible gases inside the tower or gases from the system to enter the tower and reach their explosive limit; an explosion was triggered by electric sparks generated during maintenance work or sparks resulting from impacts during operation. The “12•2” explosion accident at Jilantai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Company in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia On December 2, 2010, an explosion involving vinyl chloride occurred at Jilantai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd. in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia, resulting in 3 deaths and 1 injury. The direct cause of the accident was the incorrect closure of the make-up water valve, bypass valve, relief valve, and steam return valve while dealing with a leak in the converter; this prevented the heat generated by the reaction between hydrogen chloride and acetylene, which produced vinyl chloride under the action of the catalyst, from being removed in time. As a result, the hot water inside the converter vaporized, leading to an explosion. The \"12•3\" poisoning and asphyxiation accident at Jiangxi Jiangli Technology Co., Ltd. On December 3, 2009, a poisoning and asphyxiation accident occurred at the second factory of Jiangxi Jiangli Technology Co., Ltd. in Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province, resulting in 3 deaths and 2 injuries. The direct cause of the accident was the carbon monoxide in the reaction vessel flowing back to the raw ore slurry mixing tank through the newly installed slurry transfer pipe, where it continued to accumulate and caused the pump operator to suffocate. Subsequently, without any safety measures in place, several people went down into the pit to carry out rescue efforts and collapsed from asphyxiation one after another. The “12•4” explosion incident in Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province: On December 4, 2010, an explosion occurred in a one- or two-story brick-concrete structure located on the east side of the overpass on Qingping South Road in Kaili City, Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province. This explosion resulted in 7 deaths and 38 injuries in the nearby internet cafes and residential buildings. The accident was caused by hazardous chemicals stored in a small room adjacent to the internet cafe; the room contained three types of chemical powders in bags, namely polyaluminum chloride, aluminum hydroxide, and sodium nitrite, as well as several glass bottles containing liquids, namely nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and petroleum ether. The “12•7” LNG leak accident in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province: On December 7, 2013, an LNG filling station under construction in Shangyanwan Town, Yuyang District, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, experienced a LNG leak, resulting in 4 deaths. The direct cause of the accident was a leakage of liquefied natural gas when a vehicle used a pipeline to supply gas to the storage tank at the gas station (presumably due to a loose valve in the tank). Seven people entered the tank without any protective measures in an attempt to fix the issue, and four of them died from asphyxiation as a result of poisoning. The \"12•8\" hydrogen sulfide poisoning accident at Lanzhou Refining and Chemical Industry Complex in Gansu Province: On December 8, 1992, an engineering team from Gansu Province was carrying out manual excavation work on the main pipeline for sulfur-containing wastewater south of the catalytic cracking unit at the Lanzhou Refining and Chemical Industry Complex, when a poisoning and asphyxiation accident occurred, resulting in 6 deaths. The direct cause of the accident was that the construction team violated the relevant regulations regarding the management of the plant’s sewers; in order to facilitate water removal and drainage, they opened the sewer covers and created a V-shaped notch about 1 meter long in the northwest direction of the wells. Due to the uneven discharge of sulfur-containing wastewater, hydrogen sulfide that spilled from the \"V\"-shaped gap spread towards the construction workers, resulting in poisoning incidents. The “12•8” explosion at Chaoqiang Chemical Company in Huainan City, Anhui Province On December 8, 2008, an explosion occurred in the equipment used for producing dimethylpyrrolidone at Chaoqiang Chemical Co., Ltd. in Huainan City, Anhui Province; the accident resulted in 3 deaths and 2 people suffering minor injuries. Immediate cause of the accident: During maintenance of the equipment used by the company to produce dimethylpyrrolidine, improper operation led to a leak of heat transfer oil, which exploded when exposed to high temperatures. The “12•10” explosion accident at Workshop 1 of Plant 5 of Tianjin Dyeing and Chemicals Company: On December 10, 1985, an explosion occurred in the nitration process unit of the aniline production section in Workshop 1 of Plant 5 due to violations of safety regulations; as a result, 2 people died, 3 were seriously injured, and 5 suffered minor injuries. Immediate cause of the accident: After adding the mixed acid, the operator added *** to the nitration reactor without turning on the mixer, and then left the post without authorization. After being discovered, improper handling led to the activation of mixing due to violations of safety regulations, resulting in a violent reaction of the materials and an instantaneous explosion. The \"12•11\" flash explosion incident at CNPC Lanzhou Petrochemical Company On December 11, 2006, an flash explosion occurred at the additives factory of CNPC Lanzhou Petrochemical Company during welding and piping work on the top of the atmospheric pressure condensate storage tank (TK-1808) in the facility, resulting in 3 deaths. The direct cause of the accident was the intrusion of combustible butane from the feed heat exchanger of the debutanizing tower into the condensate tank TK-1808, resulting in the formation of an explosive mixture in the gas phase space above the tank. When sparks fell into the tank, a flash explosion occurred. The \"12•12\" chlorine poisoning accident at the chemical plant in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province On December 12, 1990, a chlorine leak occurred at a chemical plant in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, causing more than 800 people living outside the plant to inhale chlorine. Of these, 147 people sought medical treatment, and 19 were admitted to hospitals. Immediate cause of the accident: The valve leading directly to the exhaust system was opened too quickly, causing high-pressure chlorine gas to suddenly enter the exhaust pipe, which is usually at near-atmospheric pressure; this led to the destruction of the plastic pipe and resulting chlorine gas leakage. The “12•13” explosion at Fureide Chemical Company in Xishui County, Hubei Province On December 13, 2004, a fire and explosion occurred at Fureide Chemical Co., Ltd. in Xishui County, Huanggang City, Hubei Province, resulting in 3 deaths and 2 injuries. The accident was caused by a leak in the pipeline from the converter outlet to the heat exchanger in the conversion unit of the company’s urea division, which led to a fire and explosion. The \"12•14\" Vinyl Chloride Leak and Explosion Incident in the Resin Workshop of Xuzhou Electrochemical Plant: On December 14, 1985, an explosion occurred in the resin workshop of Xuzhou Electrochemical Plant in Jiangsu Province, resulting in 5 deaths, 1 person seriously injured, 6 people lightly injured, and the collapse of the factory building. The direct cause of the accident was that the manway gasket of Reactor No. 11 in the copolymerization section of the resin workshop experienced excessive temperature and pressure during the heating process, resulting in two cracks of 65 mm and 75 mm respectively. Meanwhile, the operator responsible for monitoring the reactor was not present there and failed to detect the excessive temperature and pressure in a timely manner. A large amount of vinyl chloride leaked, and an explosion occurred due to static electricity buildup. The “12•14” deflagration accident at Beijing Guangzhongyuan Gas Company: On December 14, 2009, a deflagration accident occurred in the carbon black water storage tank area of Beijing Guangzhongyuan Gas Co., Ltd., resulting in 3 deaths. The direct cause of the accident was that, during the construction of the renovation project for the company’s carbon black water air cooler, workers used gas cutting to cut the pipes for transporting carbon black water, which ignited the flammable and explosive gases inside the carbon black water tank, resulting in its explosion. Before the incident, there was still some carbon black water in the tank, along with a very small amount of syngas that had accumulated in the upper part of the tank over time, forming a mixed gas with air. The \"12•17\" hydrogen sulfide poisoning accident at Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group Company: On December 17, 2011, a hydrogen sulfide poisoning accident occurred at the benzene hydrogenation plant of Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group Company, resulting in 3 deaths and 9 injuries. At the time of the incident, an employee responsible for benzene hydrogenation discovered during a routine inspection that there was a leak in the shaft seal of the pump used to draw liquid from the underground non-aromatic waste tank. After informing the on-site supervisor, he went to examine the leaking area and accidentally fell into a pit outside the tank, resulting in loss of consciousness. Subsequently, several people tried to rescue them blindly and fell unconscious due to poisoning. The \"12•20\" poisoning and asphyxiation accident at Gansu Xinchuan Fertilizer Company On December 20, 2010, a gas poisoning and asphyxiation accident occurred at Gansu Xinchuan Fertilizer Co., Ltd., resulting in 5 deaths and 2 injuries. The direct cause of the accident was an electrical failure that led to a large accumulation of exhaust gases from the Mannheim reactor in the crusher pit, causing the personnel who were carrying out maintenance work as well as those who arrived later for rescue to suffer from poisoning and suffocation. The “12•24” explosion at Wufa Adhesive Factory in Gongyi City, Henan Province On December 24, 2011, an explosion occurred in a paraffin raw material storage tank at Wufa Adhesive Factory in Gongyi City, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, resulting in 3 deaths and 1 injury. The direct cause of the accident was the aging and detachment of the plastic conveying pipe, which led to a massive leakage of liquid paraffin from the pipe; this liquid came into contact with the open flame in the boiler, resulting in a fire and explosion. The “12•26” explosion accident at Chunjiang Company in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province: On December 26, 2004, during a chemical experiment in the reaction vessel of the production workshop at Chunjiang Company in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, an operational error by the workshop supervisor caused the reaction vessel to explode suddenly, resulting in 3 deaths. The direct cause of the accident was that the plant’s testers and operators were not familiar with the production process nor the corresponding emergency response plans; they acted recklessly by setting their own operating parameters and conditions for pilot production. This led to instability in the gaseous substances and volume inside the reactor, resulting in a large amount of gas being released rapidly through the gas pipelines. The increased flow rate of gas generated static electricity sparks, which triggered the accident. The “12•29” explosion at Jiuzhou Chemical Factory in Lanshan District, Linyi City, Shandong Province On December 29, 2013, at Jiuzhou Chemical Factory in Lanshan District, Linyi City, Shandong Province, an explosion occurred in a container filled with hydrogen peroxide while it was being unloaded from a hydrogen peroxide tank truck into several packaging barrels; this incident resulted in 3 deaths and direct economic losses of over 2 million yuan. The direct cause of the accident was the improper use of plastic drums that had previously contained hydrochloric acid to store hydrogen peroxide; the remaining Fe3+ and other metal impurities in the drums caused the hydrogen peroxide to decompose rapidly, leading to a pressure overload explosion. Explosion at Kunming Quanxin Biopharmaceutical Company on “12•30” On December 30, 2010, an explosion occurred in the tablet manufacturing workshop of Kunming Quanxin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, resulting in 5 deaths and 8 injuries. At the time of the incident, maintenance personnel turned off the air conditioner to replace its filter; as a result, the air conditioner stopped working and purified air could not enter the clean area. Meanwhile, the circulating hot air currents inside the oven caused the moisture and ethanol in the granules to evaporate, resulting in an accumulation of ethanol gas in the oven that reached its explosive limit. During the baking process in the oven, the operator turning on or off the oven’s exhaust fan or axial flow fan can generate electrical sparks, which ignite the explosive ethanol mixture accumulated inside the oven. Foreign accidents: The December 3 methyl isocyanate leak accident in Bhopal, India. On December 3, 1984, a methyl isocyanate leak occurred at the pesticide plant of Union Carbide in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, India. This incident resulted in 6,495 deaths, 125,000 people being poisoned, and 50,000 people suffering permanent health effects; it was an unprecedented tragedy in the history of industrial disasters worldwide. The accident was caused by water entering the methyl isocyanate (MIC) storage tank, leading to an exothermic reaction. Additionally, since there was a large amount of chloroform in the tank – chloroform being added as a reaction inhibitor during the initial stage of MIC production – the chloride ions generated by the decomposition of chloroform caused corrosion of the tank (made of 304 stainless steel), resulting in the release of free iron ions. These iron ions accelerated the progress of the reaction through catalysis. As the exothermic reaction continued, the temperature inside the tank rose sharply, generating extremely high pressure that caused the explosion-proof membrane to rupture and the safety valve to open. This led to the release of large amounts of highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) and its reactants, which covered parts of the urban area.