NEWS ITEMS

Date posted

12 May

Type

Accident investigation report – public meeting

Location

Festus, Missouri, USA

Industry

Chemical – chlorine leak

Source link

US Chemical Safety Board

Item

On Aug. 14, 2002, a one-inch chlorine transfer hose used in a railcar offloading operation at DPC Enterprises in Festus catastrophically ruptured and initiated a sequence of events that led to the release of 48,000 pounds of chlorine into neighboring areas. The hose was of improper construction, the CSB found early on, issuing a Safety Advisory to chlorine operators nationwide late last year.

CSB investigators have conducted an extensive investigation into the accident and will present their findings to the full Board on May 1 in Festus. CSB Investigation Reports are science-based, taking into account human factors and physical evidence in determining root causes of accidents. The CSB does not issue fines or penalties, but issues safety recommendations to operators, companies, industry trade groups, labor unions, and government regulators such as OSHA and EPA.

The meeting will be open to the public. Please notify CSB if a translator or interpreter is needed, at least 5 business days prior to the public meeting. For more information, please contact the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board at (202)-261-7600, or visit our website at:

www.csb.gov

Slide shows orange-suited HAZMAT responders working to close off discharge valve on rail car. The yellow cloud is chlorine.

Ed: The full webcast is several hours in length, but is a fine example of the methods used by the CSB in investiagtion and public reporting. The lessons from this incident should be of interest to all associated with in chlorine transfer operations. The incorrect hose material was in use and the emergecy stop valve failed due to corrosion.

Date posted

7 May

Type

Legislation – Rail Incident Investigation

Location

Commonwealth

Industry

Rail

Source link

http://www.atsb.gov.au/atsb/tsi_bill/index.cfm

Item

Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003

The Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act) and the Transport Safety Investigation (Consequential Amendments) Act 2003 received the Governor General's royal assent on 11 April 2003. The TSI Act updates the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's powers of aviation and marine investigation, and extends them to allow investigations on the interstate rail system. The Acts are intended to commence operation on 1 July 2003.

More…

Date posted

7 May

Type

Acid spill

Location

Delawrae, USA

Industry

Petroleum refining

Source link

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2003/05/06sulfuricacidspi.html

Item

Sulfuric acid spills at Motiva

By JEFF MONTGOMERY
Staff reporter
05/06/2003

Thousands of gallons of sulfuric acid escaped late Sunday from the top of a storage tank at a Delaware City refinery where more than 1 million gallons of acid spilled during a fatal tank explosion less than two years ago.

(The explosion and collapse of Motiva’s acid tank two years ago was investigated by the US Chemical Safety Board – www.csb.gov )

APRIL

Date posted

14 Apr

Type

Accident Investigation Report

Location

Arthurs Seat Chairlift

Industry

Amusement structures

Source link

Worksafe Victoria Media Unit – 03 9641 1555

Item

Worksafe Victoria has released an abridged version of the technical investigation report into the collapse of the Arthurs Seat chairlift of January 2003.

The three page release is available on request from Worksafe's media unit (03 9641 1555).

The investigation was conducted by Worksafe's Legal Services and Investigations Division. The purpose of the investigation is not stated.

The investigation utilised the expertise of:-

. a consulting engineer with experience in the field of passenger ropeways, particularly in the Australian ski fields

. engineering, metallurgical and materials technology experts from Monash University

. a geotechnical engineer

The release does not include the full technical reports from the experts, but rather selected and brief quotations from those reports.

The release states that the pylon collapse was caused by "corrosion and fatigue cracking in the two northern anchor bolts". Bolts and nuts below the base plate were encased in porous concrete. It is thought that water penetrated the concrete and pooled under the base plate, leading to corrosion and loosening of nuts.

The release quotes the technical report:-

"The root causes for the incident are installation and poor design. If the design had ensured the exclusion of water, pylon 8 would not have collapsed. If the anchor studs had been left open, without porous mortar infill, water would have been able to get away and evaporate and probably would not have led to crevice corrosion."

and:-

"Lack of prescribed maintenance procedures or condition monitoring did not contribute to the collapse."

The latter quote is not explained in detail. No description of the maintenance or monitoring procedures that were in use is given. The release does not give an opinion as to the inspection and maintenance procedures considered appropriate by Worksafe or by the comissioned experts.

The release does say that there is a Code of Practice for Plant that refers to inspection and testing procedures. In Victoria, Codes of Practice are not mandatory but advisory.

Worksafe is seeking legal opinion as to whether any prosecution under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985 should be taken.

Date posted

13 Apr

Type

Media release – Arthurs Seat chairlift collapse

Location

Worksafe Victoria

Industry

Amusement structures

Source link

worksafe media release

Item

DATE: Wednesday, April 9, 2003

REPORT: CORROSION, FATIGUE CAUSED CHAIRLIFT COLLAPSE

WorkCover Minister Rob Hulls today released a report on WorkSafe Victoria's investigation into the Arthurs Seat chairlift collapse on January 3.

Mr Hulls said that the report, which includes expert advice from mechanical, metallurgical and geotechnical engineers, concluded that the pylon collapse was caused by corrosion and fatigue in the two northern anchor bolts.

more….

FEBRUARY

Date posted

27 Mar

Type

Legislation

Location

Australia

Industry

Rail & transport

Source link

ATSB:-

http://www.atsb.gov.au/atsb/tsi_bill/index.cfm

Item

LEGISLATION & REGULATIONS

New Investigation Legislation

Transport Safety Investigation Bill 2002

The Transport Safety Investigation Bill 2002 (TSI Bill) and the Transport Safety Investigation (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2002 were passed by the Parliament on 26 March 2003. The TSI Bill updates the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's powers of aviation and marine investigation, and extends them to allow investigations on the interstate rail system.

More…

Date posted

20 Mar

Type

Oil spill

Location

Brisbane

Industry

Oil refining

Source link

CourierMailStory

Item

Oil leak not found for several hours
Cath Hart and Brendan O'Malley
19mar03

OIL was probably leaking into a creek near the mouth of the Brisbane River for several hours yesterday before an alert was raised.

The creek and at least 2ha of wetlands at Lytton in Brisbane's east were contaminated after an underground pipeline owned by energy company Santos Ltd was believed to have ruptured.

More…(over 1 million litres of oil leaked)

Date posted

16 Mar

Type

Lecture – Chemical Weapons

Location

Melbourne

Industry

Armaments

Source link

The Sunday Age, Sun 15 Mar, p. 6

Item

Chemical Weapons: What they are, where they are, and what is being done about them?

Thur 18 Mar, 6:30 pm

Prof Stanley Sandler (University of Delaware, USA)

Miegunyah Lecture

In this free public lecture, Prof Sandler will discuss the nature of chemical and nerve agents, how they have been weaponised, where these weapons are located, and the technical, social and political problems in destroying these aged complex weapons in a safe and environmentally benign way.

Prof Sandler is the editor of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Journal, and author of over 300 papers, a widely used textbook on chemical engineering thermodynamics, and is recipient of numerous awards.

Thetre A, Elizabeth Murdoch Building, Parkville Campus.

Enquirie sto Ms Michelle Mackay, Dept of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering on 03 8344 3443.

Date posted

11 Mar

Type

Rail/road vehicle collision

Location

Salisbury, Adelaide

Industry

Rail/Road

Source link

http://www.atsb.gov.au/rail/reports/salisbury.cfm

Item

At 15:33:01 on 24 October 2002 passenger train 5AL8 collided with a car and scheduled bus on the Salisbury Interchange controlled level crossing on Park Terrace. As a result of the accident four people were killed and 26 injured. A small sedan car and the bus were effectively destroyed. In addition two other road vehicles were damaged. The locomotive and the first vehicle of the consist sustained minor damage. There was no derailment of any rail vehicles.

More…Full Report

FEBRUARY

Date posted

24 Feb

Type

Investigation into explosion

Location

Corbin, Kentucky, USA

Industry

Manufacturing

Source link

US Chemical Safety Board

CSB Investigation Team Enters Explosion Site In Corbin, Kentucky

Item

CSB Investigation Team Enters Explosion Site In Corbin, Kentucky

(Washington, DC - Feb. 22, 2003) Experts from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today entered the site of yesterday's explosion at CTA Acoustics near Corbin, Kentucky, beginning what is expected to be a lengthy investigation into the cause of the devastating blast that seriously burned more than 10 workers.

DETAILS ...

Date posted

24 Feb

Type

Incident Digest Report

Location

Industry

Chemical

Source link

US Chemical Safety Board

CSB Debuts New Incident Digest Format

Item

CSB Debuts New Incident Digest Format

(Washington, DC - February 20, 2003) Responding to numerous requests from outside organizations, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today released its first Incident Digest -- a brief, plain-language summary of the Board's investigation into the 1998 explosion at Morton International in Paterson, NJ. Over the next few months, the agency plans to release Incident Digests for all its completed investigation reports dating back to 1998. The purpose of the new short format is to make the Board's technical products accessible to a wide audience and ensure that important new safety findings are shared as broadly as possible. Full-length Board investigation reports will continue to be available as before, in both printed and electronic form.

To download the new Morton Incident Digest, click here. To request printed copies of any Incident Digest, please write to [email protected] or call (202) 261-7600.

Date posted

21 Feb

Type

Transport investigation legislation

Location

Aust

Industry

Transport

Source link

ATSB http://www.atsb.gov.au/atsb/tsi_bill/index.cfm

Item

LEGISLATION & REGULATIONS

New Investigation Legislation

Transport Safety Investigation Bill 2002

The Federal Government introduced the Transport Safety Investigation Bill 2002 (TSI Bill) into Parliament on 20 June 2002. The Bill updates the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's powers of aviation and marine investigation, and extends them to include the interstate rail system. The media release issued by the Deputy Prime Minister for Transport and Regional Services, John Anderson gives further background on the Government's action.

More….

Date posted

18 Feb

Type

Rail – safety statistics

Location

Australia – all states

Industry

Rail

Source link

ATSB http://www.atsb.gov.au/rail/rail_occurrences.cfm

Note the high number of derailments and crashes in Victoria - ed.

RAIL SAFETY IN AUSTRALIA

REPORT ON SIGNIFICANT OCCURRENCES

The term 'occurrence' is a generic term used to encapsulate both accidents affecting life or property and incidents that do not result in accidents but have the potential to do so.

This report has been produced by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) using data supplied by the rail safety regulators in each State and Territory of Australia. Only a limited amount of data are currently made available to ATSB by the regulators.

Running line derailments

		NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA	Australia
2001	Jan-Jun	34	0	21	17	17	39	9	137
	Jul-Dec	29	0	17	12	16	41	10	125
2002	Jan-Jun	47	0	21	18	12	43	18	159

Note: Includes tram derailments, as the regulators' definition of 'train' includes trams. Most trams in Australia are in Victoria.

Train to train collisions on running lines

		NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA	Australia
2001	Jan-Jun	2	0	0	0	0	18	0	20
	Jul-Dec	1	0	2	1	2	20	0	26
2002	Jan-Jun	5	0	0	0	0	21	0	26

Note: Includes tram to tram collisions, as the regulators' definition of 'train' includes trams. Most trams in Australia are in Victoria.

More…

Date posted

17 Feb

Type

Maritime – machinery injury; investigation report

Location

Victoria, Australia

Industry

Maritime

Source link

ATSB

media release + full report

Item

INVESTIGATION REPORTS - DETAIL

CSL PACIFIC

Report No 175

Date:	18-Feb-02
Released:	17-Feb-03
Location:	OFF PORTLAND, VIC
Type:	INJURY

Summary

At 1800 on Sunday 17 February 2002, the bulk carrier CSL Pacific sailed from Melbourne after discharging a cargo of furnace slag. The ship was bound for Adelaide to load a cargo of powdered cement.

More…a maintenance employee was seriously injured by machinery

Date posted

14 Feb

Type

Train derailment (2 separate incidents)

Location

Canada

Industry

Rail

Source

Toronto Star (thanks to Yahoo Dangerous Goods Group)

Item

Trains derail, force 200 to flee
Chemical scares trigger evacuation

PAT CURRIE AND MARK LADAN
SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Two freight trains — one carrying butane and benzene, the other laden with hazardous chemicals — derailed within minutes of each other yesterday forcing the evacuation of two Ontario communities hundreds of kilometres apart.

In Carling Township, north of Parry Sound, 21 Canadian Pacific freight cars, including seven carrying methanol and styrene, jumped the tracks around 8:30 a.m.

At least one of the cars was leaking, prompting the evacuation of 175 people from the nearby Shawanaga First Nation reserve.

About 15 minutes earlier, in Gobles, a hamlet just east of Woodstock, 29 Canadian National freight cars derailed, toppling a butane-loaded tank car and blocking the main London-Toronto track.

More…

Date posted

14 Feb

Type

Safety Conference

Location

Sydney

Industry

Fire Safety

Source

Fire Protection Association Australia:

http://www.fpaa.com.au/events/events.htm

Item

HazMat2003

A two-day conference on the latest directions and compliance

requirements for chemicals, hazardous substances and dangerous goods.

29-30 April 2003

Sydney

Date posted

11 Feb

Type

Chemical explosion

Location

Sambrial, Pakistan

Industry

Fireworks

Source

US Chemical Safety Board

http://www.csb.gov/circ/post.cfm?incident_id=6320

Item

Information Added: Monday, February 10, 2003 - 1:20 PM
-----
ASKA: Eighteen people, including a Customs inspector and three
children, were killed, while more than 40 others were seriously
injured in explosion in two containers at the import yard shed of
Sialkot Dry Port in Sambrial at about 2:05 pm Tuesday.

Acting President and Speaker National Assembly Chaudhry Amir Hussain expressed shock and sorrow over the tragic blast. In a condolence message, he directed the authorities to hold an inquiry into the explosion and punish the perpetrators.

COMMENT: Now that’s an interesting brief to the investigators: find who’s guilty and punish them.

Date posted

11 feb

Type

Train derailment

Location

Tamaroa, Illinois, USA

Industry

Rail & Chemical

Source

http://www.disasternews.net/news/news.php?articleid=1745

thanks to Dangerous Goods Group for lead:-

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DangerousGoods/?yguid=129525376

Item

Illinois town evacuates after train wreck

TRAVIS DUNN

TAMAROA, Ill. (February 10, 2003) —
About a thousand people were evacuated Sunday from this small town in southern Illinois after a train carrying hazardous materials derailed and burst into flames.

The northbound Illinois Central-Canadian National train derailed at about 9 a.m. Sunday, and emergency officials evacuated a three-mile radius around the crash site.

The train was carrying methanol, vinyl chloride, formaldehyde and hydrochloric acid, said David Searby Jr., operations officer for Du Quoin emergency services. The methanol was responsible for the flames, Searby said, but it was not yet determined whether the other chemicals were involved in the fire.

More…

Date posted

09 Feb

Type

Chemical explosion

Location

Cranston, Rhode Island, USA

Industry

Chemical

Source

US CSB

Source link

http://www.csb.gov/news/2003/n20030202.htm

Item

COMPLETE BULLETIN:

CSB Team Heading to Site of Rhode Island Chemical Incident

(Washington, DC - February 7, 2003) The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has dispatched an investigative team to the site of this morning's reported chemical explosion at Technic Inc. in Cranston, Rhode Island, south of Providence.

CSB Board Member Dr. Isadore (Irv) Rosenthal will be accompanying the team, which will be headed by lead investigator Randy McClure. Preliminary reports indicate that a number of injuries occurred and that cyanide, acid, and other materials may have been present. The CSB team will immediately begin examining the nature of the accident.

CSB Chairman Carolyn Merritt said: "We are particularly concerned by the events this morning at Technic because some preliminary information hints at an uncontrolled chemical reaction, possibly leading to gas formation. If so, this is far from a new problem: uncontrolled chemical reactions have caused numerous past accidents. In September 2002, the CSB completed a two-year investigation of reactive hazards, which examined 167 serious accidents and concluded that federal safety regulations are inadequate in this area and need to be strengthened."

Date posted

09 Feb

Type

Dust explosion

Location

Kinston, North Carolina, USA

Industry

Manufacturing (plastics & rubber medical products)

Source

US CSB

Source link

http://www.csb.gov/news/2003/n20030201.htm

Item

FIRST PARA:

CSB Team Finds Several Possible Sources of Explosive Dust at Destroyed N.C. Medical Plant

(Kinston, NC - February 3, 2003, 4 p.m. Eastern) Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) now say they have identified several potential sources of explosive dust from rubber processing operations at West Pharmaceuticals and are looking into what ignited a massive explosion on the lower level of the rubber compounding area at the plant.

(Site has three earlier bulletins on this event)

Date posted

Type

Location

Industry

Source link

Item

Date posted

Type

Location

Industry

Source link

Item