Louisiana chemical plant blast kills one, injures 73 (14 June 2013)
An explosion at the Williams Olefins chemical plant in Geismar, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, killed one person and injured 73 more, according to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. The explosion shook homes more than three miles away and the subsequent fire saw flames up to 200 feet high, according to local sources.
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Health & Safety Executive chair appointed IChemE president (21 May 2013)
The chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive, Judith Hackitt CBE, has become the Institution of Chemical Engineers’ (IChemE) 73rd president. She became president at IChemE’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 20 May 2013, taking over from Russell Scott.
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Texas fertiliser plant investigation inconclusive (20 May 2013)
Investigators have not ruled out arson as the main cause of the explosions at West Fertilizer that left 15 people dead, the Texas fire marshal said on May 16. State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy said investigators were unable to rule out three possible causes, including a spark from a golf cart, an electrical short or an intentionally set fire.
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India chemical plant explosion kills one, injures four (13 May 2013)
On May 13, an explosion destroyed the Chemistar plant at Dombivli near Mumbai, killing one and injuring four. According to the Times of India, police suspect that lack of maintenance was responsible for the blast, although an investigation is still taking place and the exact cause of the incident is not yet known.
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Russia train chemicals blast injures 50 (10 May 2013)
On May 9 an explosion on a freight train carrying chemicals and oil products hurled part of a rail wagon into a residential block in southern Russia, injuring at least 50 people, officials said.
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Investigators say Texas fertiliser plant explosion caused by ammonium nitrate (08 May 2013)
The Texas state fire marshal's office has confirmed that the devastating explosion that left 14 people dead and about 200 injured on April 17 was due to the detonation of ammonium nitrate stored at the site in West, near Waco. The actual cause of the fire and subsequent blast at the West Fertilizer Co facility is still being determined, investigators said.
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Chemical fire on derailed Belgian train kills one (07 May 2013)
One person was killed and dozens injured after a freight train carrying chemicals derailed and caught fire near the town of Wetteren in northwest Belgium on May 5. The blaze led to a series of explosions in the railway cars and a fire spread over hundreds of metres, prompting authorities to evacuate residents living within 500 metres of the site of the accident.
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UK chemical firm fined £120,000 after fireball engulfs employee (07 May 2013)
A chemical firm has been fined £120,000 after an employee sustained severe burns when he was engulfed by a fireball at a factory in the Wirral. The 45-year-old from Kirkby was kept in an induced coma for seven weeks following a chemical explosion at SAFC Hitech Ltd’s plant in Bromborough on 28 February last year.
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Several workers injured in explosion and fire at Texas plastics plant (06 May 2013)
On May 2 an explosion and fire at the Formosa Plastics Corporation in Point Comfort resulted in sixteen injured being taken to nearby medical centres, with one worker reportedly sustaining critical injuries. According to a Formosa spokesman, the incident affected the Polyethylene 1 production unit, which is closed.
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Grain silo possible source of fire that led to West Fertilizer Co. explosion (23 April 2013)
On April 23, The Times reported that the explosion at the fertiliser plant in West, near Waco, Texas, could have been triggered by a fire in a grain container on the site. Two witnesses said that the original fire that triggered the blast started in a grain silo and not, as was first believed, in one of the fertiliser tanks containing anhydrous ammonia.
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