It was recently reported that the U.S. Chemical Safety Board released its case study titled “Key Lessons for Preventing Inadvertent Mixing During Chemical Unloading Operations,” which examines a mixture of incompatible materials at the MGPI Processing Plant in Atchison, Kansas on October 21, 2016. The mixture resulted in a chemical release containing chlorine and other compounds that traveled into the community.
The CSB’s investigation examined several key issues including the design of chemical transfer equipment, automated and remote shut off systems, and chemical unloading procedures. The MGPI facility produces distilled spirits and specialty wheat proteins and starches.
The chemical release occurred when sulfuric acid was inadvertently unloaded from a tanker truck into a fixed sodium hypochlorite tank at the plant. The two materials combined to produce chlorine gas and other by-products that sent over 140 individuals, both workers and members of the public, to area hospitals, and resulted in shelter-in-place and evacuation orders for thousands of local residents.
The findings reaffirm the need for facilities to pay careful attention to the design and operation of chemical transfer equipment to prevent similar events.
The CSB’s final report includes 11 key lessons and outlines clear safety improvements that can be implemented at similar facilities. Among these recommendations are that facilities should evaluate chemical unloading equipment and processes RISK ASSESSMENTS and implement safeguards to reduce the likelihood of an incident. Importantly its is needed to take into account human factors issues that could impact how facility operators and drivers interact with equipment.
The report goes onto suggest that Facility Management should evaluate their chemical transfer equipment and processes and, where feasible, install alarms and interlocks in the process control system that can shut down the transfer of chemicals in an emergency.
The report can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=655&v=Tflm9mttAAI
