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An above-ground storage tank overfilled with gasoline (petrol) during a night-time unloading operation from a ship berthed 3km (2 miles) away. Nearly 790m3 of gasoline overflowed into a secondary containment bund. The resulting large vapour-mist cloud found an ignition source in the nearby wastewater treatment plant, leading to a vapour cloud explosion. The resulting fire caused multiple secondary explosions, destroying 17 of the 48 tanks on site and damaging neighbouring businesses and homes. The fire burned for approximately 66 hours and significant environmental damage was inflicted by petroleum product and firewater/foam runoff. The operating company filed for bankruptcy.
Ask yourself and your crew:
- How can something like this happen here (e.g. on our site)?
- What safety measures (i.e. procedures, controls/barriers) do we have in place to mitigate the risk?
- How do we know the risk controls/barriers are working?
- What improvements or changes should we make to the procedures, controls/barriers or the way we work?
Original content courtesy of IChemE Safety Centre
