Inspection Detail

Inspection: 106572563 - Cedar Chemical Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Little Rock Area Office

Inspection Nr: 106572563

Report ID: 0627100

Date Opened: 09/26/1989

Site Address:
Cedar Chemical Corporation
Hwy. 242 So.
West Helena, AR 72395

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2749, West Helena, AR 72395

Union Status: NonUnion

SIC:2879

NAICS: 0

Inspection Type: Referral

Scope: Partial

Advanced Notice: N

Ownership: Private

Safety/Health: Safety

Close Conference: 09/28/1989

Planning Guide: Safety-Manufacturing

Emphasis:

Case Closed: 02/02/1990

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Accident	360411581
Referral	901084780	Yes

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 565291

Event: 09/25/1989

EMPLOYEE BURNED IN CHEMICAL PRESSURE VESSEL EXPLOSION

EMPLOYEE #1 WAS BADLY BURNED WHEN A PRESSURE VESSEL CONTAINING 15,000 POUNDS OF METHYL THIOTINACOLONE (MTPO) EXPLODED, DESTROYING THE VESSEL, THE BUILDING, AND IGNITING THE ALCOHOL AT THE LOCATION. THE RESULTING FIRE DESTROYED ALL INDICATORS, READINGS, AND LOGS FOR THIS PROCESS. A DETAILED EXAMINATION WAS NOT PERMITTED BECAUSE THE STRUCTURE HAD BEEN WEAKENED TO SUCH A GREAT EXTENT. EMPLOYEE #1 REFUSED TO BE INTERVIEWED; HOWEVER, THERE ARE INDICATIONS THAT HE ACKNOWLEDGED AN ALARM DURING THE PROCESS AND TURNED IT OFF. OPERATOR ERROR APPEARS TO BE A FACTOR IN THIS ACCIDENT. IN ADDITION, THE MIX BEING PROCESSED WAS A 3-BATCH RATHER THAN THE CUSTOMARY 4-BATCH MIX; WHETHER THE NECESSARY MODIFICATIONS WERE MADE IS UNKNOWN. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT EXCESS TEMPERATURE RESULTED IN DECOMPOSITION AND AN EXOTHERMIC REACTION.

Keywords: BURN, ALCOHOL, PRESSURE VESSEL, WORK RULES, FIRE, EXPLOSION, HIGH PRESSURE, PROCESS SAFETY, HIGH TEMPERATURE

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	106572563			Hospitalized injury	Burn(Chemical)	Occupation not reported

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.