Published on 13/12/23 451 Views

On 25th August 2017, a manufacturing plant of organic peroxides was proactively shut down to prepare for arrival of a Category 4 hurricane. However, a few days later, unexpectantly high and rising water levels threatened the electrical power, backup power and refrigeration systems in the low temperature warehouses where thermally unstable organic peroxides were stored. So the electrical equipment in the warehouses was turned off. The rising water level reached a transformer and all electrical power to the site was lost. The low temperature organic peroxide products were transferred to 9 standby refrigerated trailers, but flooding prevented 3 of the trailers being moved to high ground. On 29-Aug-17, all employees at the plant and neighbouring residents had to be evacuated. On 31-Aug-17, organic peroxide products in one of the refrigerated trailers decomposed, causing the peroxides and trailer to combust. The following day 2 more trailers caught fire.

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