Chemical incidents can shake communities to their very core. In an ironic twist of fate, the same companies providing jobs for thousands of people can become a tremendous burden. Industrial complexes and factories handle a battery of dangerous chemicals everyday. Failure to adopt and follow stringent safety protocols often leads to explosions and fires. As technology advances, humanity must collectively contend with the negative consequences in the name of the better good, which is almost always progress and profit. To harness these unchecked powers, federal regulators, such as OSHA and the EPA write and enforce regulations pertaining to proper chemical storage. When companies fail to abide by theses norms, they are cited and, in extreme cases, shuttered, altogether. A community in North Kentucky is still reeling from the potential mishandling of dangerous chemicals following an explosion and subsequent lock-down order. The shelter-in-place order was lifted, but the perpetual fear remains.
Emergency crews from Fort Wright and several other surrounding agencies responded to the plant after an explosion was reported involving a storage vessel housing a polyester resin. Source: www.cincinnati.com.
“As the chemical resin continues to cool down it is off-gassing and occasionally emitting a loud popping noise. These are not considered explosions but rather a normal cooling process,”
Fortunately, there were no injuries reported and property damage appears to be minimal. Chemical incidents such as these have become an all too common reality for communities across the nation. While it’s far too early to assign blame to any guilty parties, we can safely assume that egregious oversteps likely led this fire. Although the company in question doesn’t appear to have a history of violations related to chemical incidents, a thorough investigation by OSHA will likely include steps for resolution, as well as a potential fine. While fines and negative publicity remain powerful deterrents against negligent storage practices, similar incidents continue to occur, but why? Do these companies simply not care about the safety of their employees and the natural environment they operate it in? This is unlikely. Factories are complicated labyrinths of industry with a million moving parts humming along in unison. In reality, most chemical incidents continue to be the byproduct of negligence and oversights instead of wanton destruction. Shockingly, the average U.S. warehouse or factory is almost 200,00 square feet! That’s a lot of space to keep up for the typical safety manager or engineer. We’re by no means trying to fabricate excuses for these beleaguered companies, but we would mistaken not to temper these facts without the stark reality of the situation.
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