Thursday, January 20, 2011
Chemical Safety Board Releases Final Report On Explosion
WEST VIRGINIA....
During a media briefing Thursday at West Virginia State University in Institute, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board released its final report on the August 28, 2009 Bayer CropScience explosion that killed two workers and injured eight others. The report found multiple deficiencies during a lengthy startup process resulted in a runaway chemical reaction inside a vessel, creating pressure that caused an explosion, and that vessel soared into a manufacturing unit, spreading fire as it went. The CSB found that the startup of a unit which, after a long period of maintenance, was premature because the company was pressured to resume production of its pesticides. The CSB report cited "numerous critical omissions," including a too complex Standard Operating Procedure that was not reviewed nor approved, incomplete training for a new computer control system and inadequate control of process safeguards. The CSB says the deaths of the workers as a result of the accident could have been prevented had Bayer CropScience provided adequate training and required a comprehensive pre-startup equipment checkout and strict conformance with appropriate startup procedures.
During a media briefing Thursday at West Virginia State University in Institute, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board released its final report on the August 28, 2009 Bayer CropScience explosion that killed two workers and injured eight others. The report found multiple deficiencies during a lengthy startup process resulted in a runaway chemical reaction inside a vessel, creating pressure that caused an explosion, and that vessel soared into a manufacturing unit, spreading fire as it went. The CSB found that the startup of a unit which, after a long period of maintenance, was premature because the company was pressured to resume production of its pesticides. The CSB report cited "numerous critical omissions," including a too complex Standard Operating Procedure that was not reviewed nor approved, incomplete training for a new computer control system and inadequate control of process safeguards. The CSB says the deaths of the workers as a result of the accident could have been prevented had Bayer CropScience provided adequate training and required a comprehensive pre-startup equipment checkout and strict conformance with appropriate startup procedures.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 7:38 PM 
