- Formosa Plastic propylene explosion
- Executive Summary
- Formosa explosion was one of the industrial accidents that occurred because of management failure. The accident occurred as a failure of the management not to apply the recommended prevention mechanisms. The explosion accident occurred after a forklift that was inside the plant stepped on one of the piping system causing it to leak. After a short while, propylene formed a flammable cloud of vapors that later caused the fire in the plant. There were no deaths reported from the accident but many employees were injured. Moreover, much of the company’s properties were destroyed. Later, officials from the hazard control department went in the accident occurrence area in order to investigate the cause of the accident and make the necessary conclusions.
- The explosion occurred after an accident of a forklift. The forklift was towing a trailer that was full of gas cylinders. The trailer was full of cylinders of breathing air used for maintenance purposes. According to a reliable source, the accident caused snagging of a valve that eventually pulled out of the system. This problem caused the release of propylene. The propylene came out in large volumes. Most of the academics refer the release of the propylene during this particular period as flammable vapor cloud. The flammable vapor then ignited and caused a large fire (EHS 21).
- The explosion accident occurred back in the year 2005. It occurred within Formosa plant’s Olefins II unit. Most of the operations that take place in this particular unit of the company include conversion of natural gas into various products. Moreover, conversion of naphtha into various products also takes place in this particular unit of the company. Some of the products that are produced after the conversion include propylene and ethylene. This particular unit is usually protected from any occurrence of overpressure. This is because the propylene produced in the unit usually moves with a lot of pressure while being sent to the storage tanks. The company uses pressure release valves in order to prevent any leakage of the pipes used to transport the produced propylene. In order to prevent the occurrence of overpressure, the relief valves assist in sending some of the gases into a flare system. In this particular system, some of excess gases are burned using a controlled method. The burning usually occurs at a distant place from the main unit. However, during this particular date that the explosion accident occurred, the relief valves were operated manually and therefore the entitled workers failed to reach in time and prevent the occurrence of the explosion (EHS 21).
- According to some of the victims of the explosion, they illustrated that the accident was a result of human error. Many reasons were given to support this fact. Some of the victims illustrated that a trailer that was being pulled by the forklift resulted to all this problems after being caught on a valve. The valve was one of the propylene piping system. Moreover, this particular pipe was near the Olefins II Unit. The trailer pulled the valve out and this made part of the piping system to become lose. After loosening of the piping system, propylene that usually moves under a high pressure managed to leak and pour out. While coming out, the propylene created a vapor of cloud. This cloud was flammable and could eventually cause fire at any moment. Some of the employees including the forklift driver managed to move away after seeing the vapor of cloud (EHS 21).
- More information from the victims of the tragedy indicated that one of the employees in the company heard the sound that was coming from the escaping propylene and made the recommended necessary steps. The employee managed to notify the officials who were in the control room in order they could take the appropriate steps. After witnessing the leak, the officials in the control room started immediately to shut down all the systems in the plant. The worst issue that happened during the process of shutting down the system was that all the valves that could have assisted in stopping the leak were to be operated manually. The officials tried all they could to reach the valves in order to shut them but they could not make it. The vapor cloud that was coming from the leaking propylene prevented them to shut down the system. This contributed in making the explosions to occur simultaneously and the fires grew bigger. However, operators managed to turn on most of the fire monitors.
- The only significant issue that operators in the control room considered would be effective in saving the lives of employees was to evacuate them. They managed to declare an order of evacuation from the site immediately for everyone who was present in the company during that day. The officials also evacuated the area especially when they smelt propylene. Many of the workers managed to run away from the site in order to save themselves. However, they could not move more quickly as it was expected because some of the gates were closed and no one was present to open. Many of them managed to jump over the fence as they were trying to flee themselves from the now increased explosions. After the explosion occurred, the fire burned for a period of five days and it took much work for the firefighters to calm down the frames.
- Some of the major effects of the fire included loss of properties worth millions of dollars. About sixteen workers were injured during the tragedy. Another significant effect of the fire was the evacuation of the nearby school. There was enough evident that the explosion also caused other significant effects to the surrounding environment for several weeks after the initial explosion. Some of these effects include causing respiratory problems to the residences of the surrounding area. Apart from the evacuation of the school next to the company, many of the nearby residents left their homes because of the dispersed fumes and residue that blown off after the explosion. Moreover, the residue that emerged from the fumes was reported to have killed many plants in the surrounding environment next to the company. The fumes also sullied cars causing a huge loss to the nearby residents. Some people reported to have experienced respiratory problems because of the fumes. Other residents of the nearby area reported to have gotten seriously ill because of the effects of the fumes from the explosion. The other significant aspect that contributed in causing harm to the community in the surrounding area was the release of various chemicals after the explosion. Many of the residents developed serious health problems because of those chemicals (EHS 21).
- After the occurrence of the explosion, the government managed to make various investigations related to the accident. The findings demonstrated that the accident was preventable and manageable if it was not because of human error. For example, the cause of the accident, which was the vehicle impact, was not properly controlled as it was required. This is because there was no procedure in the company that indicated various speed limits inside the organization. Moreover, on the issue of vehicle impact, the officials found out that there were no reliable and recommendable guidelines on where vehicles were allowed to operate while inside the plant. The officials also managed to find out that the piping that leaked resulting to the entire problem was not properly secured. Therefore, some of the officials in the company who were supposed to have checked on these issues were eligible for any consequences that would be applied after the investigations. The officials also found out that there were no reliable structures for fire protection. According to prior government recommendations, the company had the obligation of protecting the columns supporting the piping valves by making fireproof on them. However, the company neglected the issue while constructing the piping system.
- After assessing the accident that resulted because of the explosion, the officials suggested that the company had the obligation of revising various policies related to safety recommendations. One of the suggested policies was that the company needed to have a hazard analysis that could help in making sure that any vehicle impact was address within the shortest time possible. The officials also suggested that there was a need for the company to address the issue of minimizing hazardous materials. Another significant aspect that the officials recommended the company to address related to protection of workers while operating in the plant. The officials recommended that the company ought to provide resistance clothes for workers while carrying out their daily obligations. After the officials conducted all the information, they concluded that the company had all the mechanisms to control and prevent the accident if all the prevention measures were addresses. Therefore, the company had conducted a willful act of causing harm to its employees for failing to protect them (EHS 21). The company had also conducted other violations according to safety laws. The government therefore fined the company an amount of money that contributed to $148,000.
- Works Cited
- EHS "Blast Victims Sue Formosa." Occupational Hazards 69.1 (2007): 21
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