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A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion is an explosion caused by the rupture of a vessel containing a pressurized liquid that is or has reached a temperature sufficiently higher than its boiling point at atmospheric pressure. Because the boiling point of a liquid rises with pressure, the contents of the pressurized vessel can remain a liquid as long as the vessel is intact. If the vessel's integrity is compromised, the loss of pressure drops the boiling point, which can cause the liquid to convert to gas expanding rapidly. BLEVEs are manifestations of explosive boiling.
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. Coal mining is considered much more hazardous than hard rock mining due to flat-lying rock strata, generally incompetent rock, the presence of methane gas, and coal dust. Most of the deaths these days occur in developing countries, and rural parts of developed countries where safety measures are not practiced as fully. A mining disaster is an incident where there are five or more fatalities.
A gas explosion is the ignition of a mixture of air and flammable gas, typically from a gas leak. In household accidents, the principal explosive gases are those used for heating or cooking purposes such as natural gas, methane, propane, butane. In industrial explosions many other gases, like hydrogen, as well as evaporated (gaseous) gasoline or ethanol play an important role. Industrial gas explosions can be prevented with the use of intrinsic safety barriers to prevent ignition, or use of alternative energy.
On May 4, 1988, a fire followed by several explosions occurred at the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada. The disaster caused two fatalities, 372 injuries, and an estimated $100 million of damage. A large portion of the Las Vegas Valley within a 10-mile (16 km) radius of the plant was affected, and several agencies activated disaster plans.
There have been many extremely large explosions, accidental and intentional, caused by modern high explosives, boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions (BLEVEs), older explosives such as gunpowder, volatile petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline, and other chemical reactions. This list contains the largest known examples, sorted by date. An unambiguous ranking in order of severity is not possible; a 1994 study by historian Jay White of 130 large explosions suggested that they need to be ranked by an overall effect of power, quantity, radius, loss of life and property destruction, but concluded that such rankings are difficult to assess.
The Bright Sparklers fireworks disaster occurred in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia on 7 May 1991 at 3:45 (MST). The Bright Sparklers fireworks factory in Sungai Buloh, Selangor caught fire and caused a huge explosion. Twenty six people were killed and over a hundred people were injured in the disaster. The explosion was strong enough to rip off the roofs of some local houses, and ended up damaging over 200 residential properties and was felt as far as 7-8 kilometers from the side.
The Grover Shoe Factory disaster was an industrial explosion, building collapse and fire that killed 58 people and injured 150 when it leveled the R. B. Grover shoe factory in Brockton, Massachusetts on March 20, 1905. Following a boiler explosion, the four-story wooden building collapsed and the ruins burst into flames, incinerating workers trapped in the wreckage.
A series of explosions caused by an industrial accident occurred on August 26, 2008 in Yizhou city in Guangxi province in southwest China.
Energy resources bring with them great social and economic promise, providing financial growth for communities and energy services for local economies. However, the infrastructure which delivers energy services can break down in an energy accident, sometimes causing considerable damage. Energy fatalities can occur, and with many systems deaths will happen often, even when the systems are working as intended.
On April 17, 2013, an ammonium nitrate explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility in West, Texas, United States, while emergency services personnel were responding to a fire at the facility. Fifteen people were killed, more than 160 were injured, and more than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Investigators confirmed that ammonium nitrate was the material that exploded. On May 11, 2016, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stated that the fire had been deliberately set. That finding has been disputed.
On 12 August 2015, a series of explosions at the Port of Tianjin in Tianjin, Northern China, killed 173 people, according to official reports, and injured hundreds of others. The explosions occurred at a container storage station in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China. The first two explosions occurred 33 seconds apart. The second explosion was much larger and involved the detonation of about 800 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. Fires caused by the initial explosions continued to burn uncontrolled throughout the weekend, resulting in eight additional explosions on 15 August.
The Tangerang fireworks disaster occurred on 26 October 2017 at the PT. Panca Buana Cahaya Sukses, a fireworks manufacturing factory in Kosambi, Tangerang, Indonesia. The explosion occurred in a warehouse connected to the factory and ignited a large fire. A hundred and three people were working at the factory at the time of the explosion. At least 49 people were killed and 46 others were injured in the fireworks accident. Authorities confirmed that several people were still missing. It was the deadliest industrial accident in Indonesia.
On 21 March 2019, a major explosion occurred at a chemical plant in Chenjiagang Chemical Industry Park, Chenjiagang, Xiangshui County, Yancheng, Jiangsu, China. According to reports published on 25 March, 78 people were killed and 617 injured.
On 3 June 2020, the explosion occurred at the Yashashvi Rasayan Pvt. Ltd. chemical factory at Dahej in Gujarat, India, around 12:00 hours.
On 4 June 2022, a major explosion and fire occurred at a chemical plant in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India. At least 9 people were killed and 19 others injured.
On the night of 4 June 2022, a fire and subsequent explosions at a container depot in Sitakunda Upazila, Chittagong District, Bangladesh killed at least 47 people and injured around 450 others.
On 17 February 2024, a fire broke out following an explosion at a firecracker factory in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu. Ten people were killed and more than seven were injured. On 29 June 2024, another explosion at a different fire cracker unit near Sattur, resulted in four deaths and one injury.
References
- 1 2 3 "Explosion and fire at chemical factory in India kills at least 9, injures 64". Associated Press. 24 May 2024. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ↑ "Fire breaks out after massive explosion at chemical factory in Thane". Financial Express . 23 May 2024. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ↑ "8 Dead, More Than 60 Injured In Massive Blast At Chemical Factory In Thane District". News18 . 23 May 2024. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ↑ "Massive Explosion at factory in Thane". NDTV . 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- 1 2 3 "Dombivli chemical unit blast occurred in reactor, not boiler; Delhi experts to probe cause: Maharashtra Minister". Telegraph India. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.