Release of Toxic and Flammable Mixture from a Hydrogenation Reactor
The incident occurred in the hydrogenation reactor and products cooling unit. The reactor operated under vacuum conditions and the cooling medium was water.Toxic, flammable and explosive substances (flammable gases, hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen) escaped to the open air from a bend in the water cooler. The heat-exchanger of the cooling unit was corroded by the action of the hydrogen sulfide contained in the reaction products.The hydrogen sulfide emission caused bad odor in the surroundings of the plant area. The population was alerted.
Event Date
March 8, 1991
Record Quality Indicator
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Cause Comments
The immediate cause was the corrosion of the material by hydrogen sulfide.
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
hydrogenation reactor, cooling unit
Storage/Process Medium
Storage/Process Quantity
100
Location Type
Location description
Industrial Area
Operational Condition
Number of Fatalities
7
Currency
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
Unknown
Event Nature
Emergency Action
INTERNAL TO THE ESTABLISHMENT: The accesses to the installation were blocked and the reactor contents was sent to the flare system. Hydrogen sulfide concentration measurements were carried out. EXTERNAL TO THE ESTABLISHMENT: The hydrogen sulfide emission caused bad odour in the surroundings of the plant area. The population was alerted.
Release Type
Release Substance
Release Amount (kg)
100.00
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Source Category
References
References
Description of the event in the European Database eMARS