Case Study 2 Nitrogenous fertilizer Plant
accident
If you will imagine it, it is scary to imagine that a large explosion may suddenly occur.
What happens there is that a large explosion occurred in "silo 110" in Oppau on
September 21, 2001. Two separate explosions can be seen in seismographic data from
Stuttgart, 150 kilometers away from Oppau. The explosion was heard 275 kilometers
away in Munich, causing fear.
It is sad to think that 561 people were killed, 1,952 were wounded, and 7,500 people
were displaced. Passengers from three worker trains arriving on site for a shift change
are among the fatalities. Several children were hurt on their way to school, boats on the
Rhine river were damaged, and numerous sailors were injured. Several incidences of eye
damage were recorded.
According to their investigation, the production method had been altered a few months
before the disaster, with the humidity level (2 percent instead of 3 to 4 percent) and
apparent density of the mixture generated being lower than before. These changes,
according to the experts, made it simpler for the combination to explode.
Furthermore, many eyewitness accounts that corroborate each other lead us to think
that the 4,500-tonne mound of the mixture in the silo that was built up in the month
leading up to the explosion was not uniform. Even though post-accident sampling and
analysis showed that ammonium nitrate levels in the mixture were between 47 and 49
percent, there might have been several dozen tonnes of zones higher in ammonium
nitrate.
From what I have read, Oppau's buildings were damaged to the tune of 80%.
Ludwigschafen and Mannheim also suffered significant damage. Massive glass debris on
Heidelberg's roads (30 km from Oppau) caused traffic congestion in the city.
According to a 29 January 1922 article in the New York Times, the material damage was
estimated at 321,000,000 marks ($1,700,000).
accident
If you will imagine it, it is scary to imagine that a large explosion may suddenly occur.
What happens there is that a large explosion occurred in "silo 110" in Oppau on
September 21, 2001. Two separate explosions can be seen in seismographic data from
Stuttgart, 150 kilometers away from Oppau. The explosion was heard 275 kilometers
away in Munich, causing fear.
It is sad to think that 561 people were killed, 1,952 were wounded, and 7,500 people
were displaced. Passengers from three worker trains arriving on site for a shift change
are among the fatalities. Several children were hurt on their way to school, boats on the
Rhine river were damaged, and numerous sailors were injured. Several incidences of eye
damage were recorded.
According to their investigation, the production method had been altered a few months
before the disaster, with the humidity level (2 percent instead of 3 to 4 percent) and
apparent density of the mixture generated being lower than before. These changes,
according to the experts, made it simpler for the combination to explode.
Furthermore, many eyewitness accounts that corroborate each other lead us to think
that the 4,500-tonne mound of the mixture in the silo that was built up in the month
leading up to the explosion was not uniform. Even though post-accident sampling and
analysis showed that ammonium nitrate levels in the mixture were between 47 and 49
percent, there might have been several dozen tonnes of zones higher in ammonium
nitrate.
From what I have read, Oppau's buildings were damaged to the tune of 80%.
Ludwigschafen and Mannheim also suffered significant damage. Massive glass debris on
Heidelberg's roads (30 km from Oppau) caused traffic congestion in the city.
According to a 29 January 1922 article in the New York Times, the material damage was
estimated at 321,000,000 marks ($1,700,000).
