- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Evacuation at Dow Plaquemines **Chlorine leak**
Posted on 12/2/16 at 7:04 pm to Geauxtac260
Posted on 12/2/16 at 7:04 pm to Geauxtac260
We had a very similar incident happen at a plant in a very, very small town called Graniteville in SC about 10 years ago. The town is in Aiken County and I lived about 10 miles from there when this happened.
A train that was delivering chlorine to the plant crashed around 3am and all of the chlorine gas leaked. The way the plant was situated in the town was such that 70% of the town's population lived within a quarter mile from the plant and the train tracks.
Because the accident happened so late at night and there was just a skeleton crew working, there was basically no warning or evacuation of the plant or the residents. That town is pretty much a ghost town now. Most of the residents died in their sleep from the chlorine gas exposure as did all of the plant crew working that night. A lot of those that survived within that quarter mile have since died from complications related to exposure and most of those that are still alive are still dealing with the effects from exposure.
The cause of the leak turned out to be the train operator's fault. He fell asleep and failed to stop the train at the end of the line of the tracks.
Horrible tragedy. A lot of ppl do not realize just how toxic and dangerous chlorine gas is. I didn't until the accident in Graniteville happened.
I hope that all involved in the incident there are safe and sound.
A train that was delivering chlorine to the plant crashed around 3am and all of the chlorine gas leaked. The way the plant was situated in the town was such that 70% of the town's population lived within a quarter mile from the plant and the train tracks.
Because the accident happened so late at night and there was just a skeleton crew working, there was basically no warning or evacuation of the plant or the residents. That town is pretty much a ghost town now. Most of the residents died in their sleep from the chlorine gas exposure as did all of the plant crew working that night. A lot of those that survived within that quarter mile have since died from complications related to exposure and most of those that are still alive are still dealing with the effects from exposure.
The cause of the leak turned out to be the train operator's fault. He fell asleep and failed to stop the train at the end of the line of the tracks.
Horrible tragedy. A lot of ppl do not realize just how toxic and dangerous chlorine gas is. I didn't until the accident in Graniteville happened.
I hope that all involved in the incident there are safe and sound.
2
Posted on 12/2/16 at 7:34 pm to Carolina_Girl
quote:
Because the accident happened so late at night and there was just a skeleton crew working, there was basically no warning or evacuation of the plant or the residents. That town is pretty much a ghost town now. Most of the residents died in their sleep from the chlorine gas exposure as did all of the plant crew working that night.
9 people died in a town of 2,600
Posted on 12/2/16 at 8:54 pm to Carolina_Girl
The thing that's so dangerous about chlorine is such a small amount of it goes a long way. I'm talking in the parts per million, you can smell it. The chlorine coming out the header in the plant is concentrated. Imagine smelling the same thing as pool chlorine, but so intense that it takes your breath away. All you can do when you get blasted is run upwind of it to get some relief. I hate working with chlorine. I work around a lot more dangerous chemicals and hazards, but next to electricity - chlorine is the one I hate working around the most. It gets in your lungs and makes HCl.
And the dangerous thing about chlorine in a line is if it's sitting in a carbon steel pipe and heated to over 150 degrees C, you will get a pipe fire that will get away from you in a hurry. There's a chemical reaction that happens with carbon steel, chlorine, and heat over 150 degrees C (a fire surpasses that big time).
The hazards that come with chlorine plays a big role in why Dow sold off it's chlorinated organics business to Olin.
And the dangerous thing about chlorine in a line is if it's sitting in a carbon steel pipe and heated to over 150 degrees C, you will get a pipe fire that will get away from you in a hurry. There's a chemical reaction that happens with carbon steel, chlorine, and heat over 150 degrees C (a fire surpasses that big time).
The hazards that come with chlorine plays a big role in why Dow sold off it's chlorinated organics business to Olin.
This post was edited on 12/2/16 at 8:58 pm
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News