Chemical disaster

This ppt shows the various effect of chemical disaster and their precautions....

1. CHEMICAL DISASTAR A chemical accident is the unintentional release of one or more hazardous substances which could harm human health or the environment. Chemical hazards are systems where chemical accidents could occur under certain circumstances. Such events include fires, explosions, leakages or releases of toxic or hazardous materials that can cause people illness, injury, disability or death. While chemical accidents may occur whenever toxic materials are stored, transported or used, the most severe accidents are industrial accidents, involving major chemical manufacturing and storage facilities. The most significant chemical accident in recorded history was the 1984 Bhopal disaster in India, in which more than 3,000 people had died after a highly toxic vapour, (methyl isocyanate), was released at a Union Carbide Pesticides factory.

2. HUMAN ERROR A majority of the industrial accidents that occur every year are a result of human error. Many of these accidents are a result of the worker failing to follow the safety procedures that have been put into place by the company where he or she works. As of 2009, a majority of industrial injuries (74.8%) happened in the service-related industry, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. When the proper equipment is not used by personnel, accidents can occur. Many injuries happen when personnel attempt to use improper tools to work on equipment. This can damage the machines and create a safety hazard . REASONS FOR CHEMICAL DISASTER

3. IMPROPER TRAINING When personnel are not trained properly or adequately, industrial accidents are more likely to occur. Workers should be taught how to operate the equipment in the way it was designed to be used. They should also learn to employ correct safety procedures when they are operating the equipment. Employees should be well versed in what to do if something goes wrong so that they can work to correct the problem quickly before it gets out of control. During 2009, 4.3 out of every 100 workers in the manufacturing industry were involved in industrial accidents. A majority of these accidents occurred as a result of improper training of personnel

4. MANUFACTURING DEFECTS Accidents that occur in a chemical plant can also be the result of a manufacturing defect. These defects can be present in a piece of equipment or in the materials used. Although companies employ several quality-control measures during the manufacturing process, some of these may fail. This is because many of these control measures are handled by employees. Where humans are involved there is always a chance of human error. An inspector may miss a defect that occurred during manufacturing. The problem may not be recognized until after an accident has occurred.

5. IMPROPER MAINTENANCE A common reason that industrial accidents occur in chemical plants is the improper maintenance of equipment. Regular maintenance at scheduled intervals following the manufacturer’s recommendations is important for ensuring that the equipment runs smoothly and safely. When a piece of equipment is not properly maintained, it can malfunction and ultimately fail. This can result in dire consequences to the personnel who are operating and working around the machine.

6. Equipment failure The use of inappropriate equipment is a big contributor to chemical accidents as it leads to the equipment malfunctioning. This includes use of inappropriate chemical storage – non-flammable units used to store flammables for examples, containment barriers or spill kits not being used correctly or failing to fulfil their purpose, check valves malfunctioning as they are not suited to the purpose intended and the use of pressure relief systems which are not adequate to relieve the level of pressure flow.

7. Warnings ignored Many large scale chemical accidents come as a result of ignoring warning signs such as smaller chemical incidents, spills or injuries. Minor chemical spills are merely cleaned up so that operations can continue without the source of the spill or leak being fully investigated or remedied leading to an even larger scale chemical spill in the future. Personnel are not made aware or cautioned in relation to mistakes they have made when handling or storing chemicals therefore they continue to make the same mistakes, often resulting in a chemical accident. Minor chemical combustions are not properly investigated and therefore root causes such as improper chemical storage are not identified until after a major chemical explosion. These are just some of the many examples of how ignored warnings have led to significant chemical incidents.

8. Major accidents involving chemical substances have local effects, but in exceptional circumstances they can affect whole regions because of weather conditions. Scientific technical developments have made it possible to prevent such dangers and therefore to protect people from them. The priority must be on prevention, but a positive result can only be assured if there are strict guidelines for using and handling these products, as well as professional knowledge, both of which are indispensable in this very complex field. Preventive and protective measures

9. When an accident involving chemical substances that could endanger life or the environment occurs in a chemical works or installation, those in charge of it should immediately take the following planned measures: - Deal with the causes of the accident and implement the safety measures which will minimise its consequences. - Immediately inform the relevant local authorities of the accident. - The local or regional authorities of the area in which the installation is located are responsible for informing the public, sounding the alarm if need be, and deciding upon the instructions to be followed by the population. The local or regional governing body ensures the co-ordinated use of the civil and military means required to deal with the disaster. In the case of radioactivity, the technical co-ordination of the implementation of protective and rescue measures is assured by specialists who should be present at all political levels and in all the intervening squads, and work in collaboration with the personnel in charge of security at the installation affected.

10. The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was considered as of 2010 to be the world's worst industrial disaster.[1] Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. The highly toxic substance made its way into and around the shanty towns located near the plant.[2] Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259. The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.[3] A government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.[4] Others estimate that 8,000 died within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases.[5] BHOPAL DISASTAR

11. The cause of the disaster remains under debate. The Indian government and local activists argue that slack management and deferred maintenance created a situation where routine pipe maintenance caused a backflow of water into a MIC tank, triggering the disaster. Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) contends water entered the tank through an act of sabotage .

12. The owner of the factory, UCIL, was majority owned by UCC, with Indian Government-controlled banks and the Indian public holding a 49.1 per cent stake. In 1989, UCC paid $470 million ($907 million in 2014 dollars) to settle litigation stemming from the disaster. In 1994, UCC sold its stake in UCIL to Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL), which subsequently merged with McLeod Russell (India) Ltd. Eveready ended clean-up on the site in 1998, when it terminated its 99-year lease and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya Pradesh. Dow Chemical Company purchased UCC in 2001, seventeen years after the disaster.

13. Top 10 Chemical Accidents Feyzin Explosion, France (1966) Flixborough , UK (1974) Seveso, Italy (1976) San Juanico LPG Disaster, Mexico City (1984) Bhopal , India (1984) Schweisehalle, Switzerland (1986) Baia Mare Cyanide Spill, Romania (2000) Enschede Fireworks, Netherlands (2000) Grande Paroisse Fertilizer Plant Explosion, France (2001) Texas City Refinery Explosion, Texas, USA (2005)

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