Accidents will continue to haunt the workplace until necessary precautions can reel in negligent behavior. We live in a precarious world with limits of physics and gravity weighing us down, and sometimes – our common sense with it. Rules of the natural world don’t care about your quarterly profits or brand recognition. Fires and flashpoints will ignore NASDAQ positions and stock portfolios when it comes to volatile interactions creating sudden combustions in the warehouse. The best way to prevent catastrophe is to separate accelerants from flammable chemicals and compartmentalize various classifications of hazardous materials. 2022 was yet another year for hard lessons when it comes to compliant chemical storage. Big industry seems destined to repeat a grade in the studies of safe storage and house school chemistry. Allow U.S. Hazmat Rentals to be your private tutor in compliant chemical storage, so you can stay ahead of the curve. But before we dive into our lesson plan, let’s learn from our predecessors in chaos by reviewing the top storage accidents of 2022.
Bangladesh Fire Caps Top Storage Accidents of 2022
Cramped working conditions, along with general subversive storage practices, resulted in a massive fire at the BM Inland Container Depot in Bangladesh, killing 48 people, including 10 firefighters. More than 200 people also sustained injuries – taking 86 hours to completely extinguish, exacting a financial toll of $152 million. Along with a general disregard of human life and decency, the fire also gave credence to a growing movement that sought to expunge rampant industry carelessness when it comes to compliant chemical storage.
So, what did duty officials at the container deport learn? Probably, it was time to get out of the business and find a better way to make a living. But they also learned what happens when you overburden supply facilities and allow general human proclivity toward carelessness run amuck. Our chemical storage containers share similarities with ship containers, but with several key differences. While similar in structural design and building materials, our storage lockers receive reinforced steel welds at key connecting points to prevent failure under duress and extreme temperatures. Extra sheeting of steel paneling prevents fires from within the storage locker from spreading to vulnerable property, including properties. Explosion relief paneling, which comes standard on fire-rated storage protection, can minimize blast zone radiuses should a fire and subsequent explosion occur.
Aqaba Toxic Gas Leak Seeps into Forefront of Proper Chemical Storage Discussion
Not all chemical storage incidents go off with a bang. Sometimes, it’s the silent but deadly attacks that incur the most damage, before factory foremen and workers don’t realize the danger that is afoot until its far too late. The 2022 Aqaba toxic gas leak is what happens when small incidents are allowed to build-up into life-changing events. On June 27, a crane was loading several pressurized containers onto a ship when the cabling system suddenly failed, jettisoning one container of chlorine until the ship, rupturing, and spreading the gas across the port like a WW1 battlefield. Bystanders did their best to escape the noxious fumes, but 13 people still succumbed to the gas. More than 265 people were also injured.
Sparks from Welding Activities Starts Fire that Kills 38 in China
Have you noticed a trend, so far, in examining the top storage accidents of 2022? While the US is far from perfect in its handling of toxic chemicals and implementing life-saving storage practices, most American industries still boast a better track record than foreign competitors. Why is that? We know you’re gonna roll your eyes at the following comment, but you can thank OSHA and the EPA for curving dubious storage practices on the jobsite. Those hefty fines, civil penalties and negative attention in the press go a long way in exposing and rectifying questionable behavior. Remember: shame (such as news articles, and even this blog exposing chemical storage woes) can a long way in correcting deviant actions on the jobsite. While money will always be a powerful motivator in making people do the right thing, shame, as well as general awareness for improper storage practices can reel in questionable practices.
In November, the owners of a Chinese textile wholesalers plant felt more than just a little bit feet shuffling and hand wringing embarrassment when a fire killed 38 people. The fire supposedly started when sparks from welding work ignited cotton stored in the building. Why welding operations are taking place near a combustible material, like cotton, in a crowded facility defies all logic and general understanding of common decency. This oversight in general storage is more than just a casual faux pas. Like the pilot who fell asleep at the controls while his jet airliner plunged to the ground below, the owners of this textile plant will forever be branded as the factory owners that allowed an industrial fire to kill 38 people. The experienced chemical storage advisors at U.S. Hazmat Rentals can instill within you common sense when it comes to compliant chemical storage and present to you several viable and affordable storage solutions at your jobsite, so your company can avoid more than just a little embarrassment or shame in your community when disaster strikes. A quick consultation with us today can prevent your company from landing on lists similar to the top storage accidents of 2022.
Fire at Chinese Petrochemical Plant Kills One
Chinese companies continued to make chemical storage news – albeit for all the wrong reasons – in 2022. At least one person was killed and another injured at an ethylene glycol plant at a Shanghai petrochemical plant in June. The fire then spread to three other buildings, necessitating a response of 563 firefighters and 113 emergency response vehicles. When a company chooses to forego practical storage practices, it impacts the entire community and costs municipal governments millions of dollars to clean-up. Don’t be a burden to your community, invest in compliant storage today.
Six Dead in Slovenia Chemical Plant Blast
Paints, adhesives, rubber and coating have become ubiquitous in modern manufacturing. That’s because they’ve become so commonplace in society. As synthetics continue to replace raw materials, accidents stemming from their manufacturing will continue to increase. While relatively benign in application, powerful adhesives and thick industrial coatings rely on flammable chemicals. The same properties that act as powerful corrosive resistors in these chemicals, also renders the precursors and finished product as flammable accelerants. Failure to properly store these chemicals will invariably result in disaster. In Slovenia last May, six people were killed after an explosion at a chemical plant. A disaster such as this could’ve been prevented with compliant chemical storage from U.S. Hazmat Rentals.
Four Dead in Boiler Explosion in India
2022 went off with a bang when a boiler explosion killed four in India. Among the killed was a four year year old girl and her mother. Travesty from negligence is bad enough when it kills exposed workers, but it takes on a whole other connotation and deeper level of despair when it hits innocent people. As a business owner, you have a responsibility to not only your workers, but the community you serve. The towns that flank factories and businesses supply the workers that make the products, and generate revenue. So, it only makes sense you would want to protect them and generate overall good will from these towns. Investing in compliant chemical storage today can save you thousands in fines and undue heartache in the future.
