Isobutylene tank explosion kills one and hospitalises two at KMCO plant in Crosby
An explosion and fire at speciality chemicals firm KMCO’s plant in Crosby, US, has killed one worker, with two others in intensive care at a local hospital.
The blast was caused by ignition of a leak from an isobutylene tank, and the ensuing fire ignited nearby stores of ethanol and ethyl acrylate. It was extinguished after five hours, according to local news reports.
Illinois: two dead, two missing after silicone plant explosion
Nine employees were inside the plant in Waukegan when it occurred at about 9.30pm Friday while the cause is unknown
Associated Press
Sun 5 May 2019
Two people have died and two others are missing feared dead after an overnight explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone plant.
Waukegan fire marshal Steven Lenzi said one body was recovered on Saturday morning while another victim died after being taken to Loyola medical center in Maywood for treatment.
Crews at one stage have suspended their search for the other two workers due to concerns about the stability of the structure.
Nine employees were inside the plant when the explosion occurred at about 9.30pm local time Friday at AB Specialty Silicones in Waukegan, about 50 miles (80km) north of Chicago.
March 2011: Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan. Regarded as the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster, there were no direct deaths but a few of the plant's workers were severely injured or killed by the disaster conditions resulting from the earthquake.
February 24, 2012: Köprü Dam in Adana Province, Turkey. A hydroelectric dam whose diversion tunnel seal was breached. 97 million cubic meters of water flooded the area downstream of the dam. The accident and flood killed 10 workers.
October 29, 2012: Hurricane Sandy caused a ConEdison power plant to explode, causing a blackout in most of midtown Manhattan. The blue light emitted from the arc made places as far as Brooklyn glow. No person was killed or injured.
July 6, 2013: Lac-Mégantic, Quebec Canada. Lac-Mégantic derailment. Forty-seven people were killed when there was a derailment of an oil shipment train. The oil shipment caught fire and exploded, destroying more than thirty buildings. It was the fourth-deadliest rail accident in Canadian history.
July 23, 2018: Laos dam collapse. Part of a hydroelectric dam system under construction collapsed in Champasak Province, Laos. The collapse lead to widespread destruction and homelessness. 40 people were confirmed dead, at least 98 more were missing, and 6,600 others were displaced.[11]
February 1, 2008: Istanbul fireworks explosion. An unlicensed fireworks factory exploded accidentally, leaving by some reports at least 22 people dead and at least 100 injured.
September 11, 2012: Karachi, Pakistan, 289 people died in a fire at the Ali Enterprises garment factory, which made ready-to-wear clothing for Western export.
November 24, 2012: Dhaka Tasreen Fashions fire. A seven-story factory fire outside of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, killed at least 112 people, 12 from jumping out of windows to escape the blaze.
April 24, 2013: 2013 Savar building collapse. An eight-story factory building collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and killed 1129 people.[17] The building contained five garment factories that were manufacturing clothing for the western market.[18]
November 19, 2010: Pike River Mine disaster in New Zealand. At 3:45 pm, the coal mine exploded. Twenty-nine men underground died immediately, or shortly afterwards, from the blast or from the toxic atmosphere. Two men in the stone drift, some distance from the mine workings, managed to escape. (Extract from Royal Commission of Inquiry Report on Pike River.)
May 13, 2014: Soma mine disaster in Manisa Province, Turkey. An explosion occurred two kilometers below the surface, starting a fire, which caused the mine's elevator to stop working. This trapped several hundred miners, many of whom died of carbon monoxide poisoning. 787 workers were present during the disaster, and 301 of them died during the disaster.
August 4, 2014: Mount Polley mine disaster near Likely, British Columbia. A partial breach of the copper and gold mine tailings pond released 10 million cubic meters of water and 4.5 million cubic meters of slurry. There were no casualties.[20]
November 5, 2015: Mariana dam disaster in Minas Gerais, Brazil. An iron ore tailings dam suffered a catastrophic failure. The resultant flooding destroyed the village of Bento Rodrigues and killed 19 people.[21]
January 25, 2019: Brumadinho dam disaster in Minas Gerais, Brazil. An iron ore tailings dam suffered a catastrophic failure. At least 233 people died.
January 20, 2012: Burns Lake, British Columbia, Canada. At a wood mill two workers were killed and 20 others injured in a fire and explosion. A combustible dust environment led to the explosion and fire.[31]
November 8, 2012: Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Two people died and 19 were injured in an industrial processing plant belonging to Neptune Technologies & Bioressources, a manufacturer of health care products.[32]
April 17, 2013: Fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas. An explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility in West, Texas, 18 miles (29 km) north of Waco, while emergency services personnel were responding to a fire at the facility. At least 14 people were killed, more than 160 were injured and more than 150 buildings damaged or destroyed.
June 20, 2013: Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec, Canada. Two women were killed in a fireworks warehouse explosion.[33]
July 31–August 1, 2014: 2014 Kaohsiung gas explosions. From the underground-installed gas pipelines of a petrochemical factory, a large-scale leakage (which had been occurring for more than three hours) led to a series of gas explosions in the streets of Kaohsiung, Taiwan at the midnight between the two days. Thirty-two people were killed and 321 others were injured.
August 12, 2015: Binhai, Tianjin, China. Two explosions within 30 seconds of each other occurred at a container storage station at the Port of Tianjin in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China[34] 173 people died as a result.[35]
August 23, 2016: Chittagong, Bangladesh. An incident of gas leakage happened at a fertilizer company in port city of Chittagong. The fertilizer company belongs to Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited (CUFL) located near the shore of Karnaphuli River. No deaths were reported but 25 people had fallen ill due to toxic ammonia inhalation.[36] The investigation team found that tank was maintained by unskilled workers instead of skilled engineers which resulted in leakage.[37]
September 10, 2016: Gazipur, Bangladesh. A boiler explosion in a packaging industry in the town of Tongi, Gazipur, led to the death of 23 workers. The explosion was so powerful that it made part of the four story building collapse. The explosion also triggered a fire which spread to surrounding areas.[38]
May 9, 2018: Patel Milmet Dam failure. An embankment dam in Nakuru County, Kenya, burst during heavy rains, killing at least 48 people.[39]