Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 921643 - Employee burned in butadiene vapor explosion

Accident Summary Nr: 921643 -- Report ID: 0418200 -- Event Date: 07/15/1991
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
102729357	07/15/1991	2822	0	Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.

Abstract: Employee #1 was unloading a rail car with approximately 32,874 gallons of butadiene at a chemical plant's tank farm. He had attached the two liquid lines and one vapor line to the dome and started unloading the car at the 402 spot. He then proceeded to secure the previously unloaded rail car at the 403 spot As he was attempting this task, the liquid line blew off the rail car at the 402 spot and sprayed butadiene into the air. The butadiene immediately formed a vapor cloud. Employee #1 ran to the pump house to shut down the pumping system when an explosion occurred, blowing him out the back door of the pump house. The fire and explosion involved three tank cars and the tank farm system. The deluge fire system activated, helping to contain the fire. Employee #1 sustained 2nd-degree burns to 30 percent of his body.

Keywords: BURN, LOADING, RAILROAD TANK CAR, FIRE, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, EXPLOSION, CHEMICAL VAPOR, CHEMICAL

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	102729357			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.