Yesterday, we discussed key safety requirements for flammable and combustible liquids. Today, we spotlight a disastrous accident that underlines the critical importance of those requirements.
A few years back an explosion ripped through a solvent manufacturing plant in Iowa. The accident was caused by a static electrical spark resulting from inadequate electrical bonding and grounding during the filling of a portable steel tank. The spark ignited the ethyl acetate solvent being loaded into the 330-gallon square tank, called a tote.
The employee who was filling the tote secured the fill nozzle with a steel weight and had just walked across the room when he heard a “popping” sound and turned to see the tote engulfed in flames.
Here’s a description of the accident by Randy McClure, lead investigator on the case for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB):
“A fireball then erupted from the tote. Pressure from the eruption knocked the filling nozzle out of the tank, spraying ethyl acetate into the room and onto the operator. His clothing ignited, but he quickly removed the ignited clothing and escaped serious injury. Another operator tried to use a hand held extinguisher to battle the blaze, but it emptied before the fire could be extinguished. He then shut off all power to the area and the plant was successfully evacuated. The flames spread quickly and eventually consumed and destroyed a large portion of the facility.”
The CSB investigation found that the nozzle and hose were not intended for use in transferring flammable liquids. “Furthermore,” said McClure, “we found the steel parts of the plastic fill nozzle and hose assembly were not bonded and grounded. Static electricity likely accumulated on these parts and sparked to the stainless steel tote body, igniting the vapor that accumulated around the opening of the tote during filling.”
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Incident Could Have Been Prevented, Says CSB
The CSB report notes that static electricity is generated as liquid flows through pipes, valves, and filters during transfer operations. Metal parts and equipment must be electrically wired to each other, known as bonding, and then electrically connected to the earth, known as grounding.
“In this case, all the conductive metal objects in the nozzle and hose, and the steel weight which was suspended from the handle by a wire, were all isolated from ground and were susceptible to static accumulation and discharge,” McClure said. “This is a set-up for disaster.”
In addition, the packaging area where the fire started had no automatic sprinkler system and was adjoined to the flammable storage warehouse. The investigation found the wall separating the two areas was not fire-rated. As a result, the warehouse was rapidly consumed, and although this area had an automatic sprinkler system, it was incapable of extinguishing the large blaze.
Former CSB chairman and current board member John Bresland said after the accident, “These accidents show the need for companies to address the hazards associated with static electricity and flammable liquid transfer.”
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