Many chemicals such as petroleum are vital to everyday life. We use petroleum products in manufacturing, to heat our homes, get us places, and run engines. The volitability of these chemicals can be catastrophic if not handled properly. This is the case with the T2 Labaratories in Jacksonville, Florida that killed four and wounded thirty-two others. In December 2007, four lives were lost and many other where changed when an explosion occurred at the Jacksonville Florida plant at T2 Laboratories, Inc. T2 was producing methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, which is a gasoline additive. The explosion caused T2 Laboratories to become destroyed and also caused damage to other businesses in the area causing windows to burst and throw
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It was noted that the system malfunctioned during the procedure. The CSB notes that the failure could have been a valve failure or blockage in the water piping used to cool the vessel. Since vessel could not be cooled, the pressure inside the vessel began to rise and chemical runaway began to occur. Chemical runaway is the process that exothermic reactions get out of control and cause an explosion (Institute of Chemical Engineers, n.d.). During the evacuation process, the pressure became too great and caused a rupture in the piping. According to the CSB report, workers reported a sound that appeared to be like a “jet engine” (CSB, 2009). By the time this occurred, it was too late. About 10 seconds after the sound, a massive explosion occurred. The CSB noted that the explosion was equivalent to about fourteen-hundred pounds of TNT (CSB, …show more content…
The operator and the co-owner who were in the control room during the explosion were killed, two operators were killed by flying debris, and a total of thirty-two other people were injured (twenty-eight from nearby businesses) and had to be treated at the hospital, according to the CSB report (CSB, 2009). The CSB found the problems with this event as follows:
• The T2 Company made its reactor process using a one-liter reactor and subsequently ran full production operations at twenty-five hundred liter capacity (CSB, 2009).
• T2 increased their batch size by 1/3.
• Despite unexpected temperature increases, the company failed to do a complete investigation of why the temperatures were
It was noted that the system malfunctioned during the procedure. The CSB notes that the failure could have been a valve failure or blockage in the water piping used to cool the vessel. Since vessel could not be cooled, the pressure inside the vessel began to rise and chemical runaway began to occur. Chemical runaway is the process that exothermic reactions get out of control and cause an explosion (Institute of Chemical Engineers, n.d.). During the evacuation process, the pressure became too great and caused a rupture in the piping. According to the CSB report, workers reported a sound that appeared to be like a “jet engine” (CSB, 2009). By the time this occurred, it was too late. About 10 seconds after the sound, a massive explosion occurred. The CSB noted that the explosion was equivalent to about fourteen-hundred pounds of TNT (CSB, …show more content…
The operator and the co-owner who were in the control room during the explosion were killed, two operators were killed by flying debris, and a total of thirty-two other people were injured (twenty-eight from nearby businesses) and had to be treated at the hospital, according to the CSB report (CSB, 2009). The CSB found the problems with this event as follows:
• The T2 Company made its reactor process using a one-liter reactor and subsequently ran full production operations at twenty-five hundred liter capacity (CSB, 2009).
• T2 increased their batch size by 1/3.
• Despite unexpected temperature increases, the company failed to do a complete investigation of why the temperatures were