Chemical Incident Reporting – Week of 4-15-23

NOTE: See here for series background.

SW Oklahoma City, OK  4-10-23

News articles here, here, and here. 100-lb Anhydrous Ammonia released during maintenance activities at an ice making facility. No injuries reported. Probably not a CSB reportable.

Kansas City, KS 4-11-23

News article here and here. CO and CO2 leak at meat processing plant, 26 transported to hospital with no word if any were admitted. Possible CSB reportable.

Wood River, NE  4-17-23

News article here, here, here, and here. Storage tank explosion during maintenance work at ethanol plant, 1 dead, 1 hospitalized. CSB reportable.

Commentary

I mentioned the ammonia leak even though it is almost certainly not a CSB reportable because of its contrast with the CO/CO2 leak and the lack of injuries. Anhydrous ammonia is a ‘good’ toxic gas. The odor threshold is well below the dangerous level so people are aware of the presence of the leak and tend to exit the area before they are in danger. No odor toxic chemicals like carbon monoxide require alarms and people are frequently slow to react to alarms, especially if alarms go off frequently at the facility.