Accidents with release of hazardous chemicals: examples

At present, the assortment of chemicals used in everyday life, industry, agriculture is rapidly increasing. Many of them are harmful and toxic. In case of an accident with the release of emergency chemical hazardous substances, people, animals, plants, water bodies, soil, air, not only in the disaster area, enter the affected area. The consequences of disasters extend to nearby areas. Next, let's take a closer look at what happens when an accident with the release of hazardous chemicals occurs. Examples of some cases will also be described in the article.

School course

Even in a general education institution, children learn about the factories where accidents involving the release of hazardous chemicals can occur . OBZH (8 class) introduces students not only to the main causes of disasters. Children receive basic knowledge of how to behave in this emergency. However, this is not all information you need to know about the accident with the release of hazardous chemicals. OBG is the basis of security, and within a few lessons it is impossible to cover the whole problem. And it stands today quite sharply and has an international scale.

General characteristics of enterprises

As it was said above, dangerous chemical compounds are widely used by man today. Speaking about industry, the largest reserves are concentrated on defense, metallurgical, oil refining, pulp and paper enterprises. Certainly, toxic compounds are also used in the chemical industry. Also, a certain amount of harmful raw materials are present at meat and dairy factories, in refrigerators, on trading bases and warehouses. Toxic connections can be found at housing and utilities. All these enterprises pose a serious threat. They always have the possibility of an accident with the release of hazardous chemicals.

Major harmful compounds

The most widely used on an industrial scale are:

• Fluoride and hydrogen bromide.
• Benzene.
• Phosgene.
• Methyl mercaptan.
• Sinilnaya to-ta.
• Sulfur dioxide.
• Nitrile of acrylic acid.
• Ammonia.
• Hydrogen sulphide.
• Chlorine.

Typically, most of the toxic compounds are in the form of a liquid or gas. When stored, used, transported for industrial purposes, gaseous substances are brought into liquid state by compression. This process is used to reduce the volume of raw materials. However, the probability of an accident with the release of hazardous chemicals only increases.

Classification of disasters

In the event of an accident with the release of hazardous chemicals, a zone of destruction is created. Toxic compounds have the ability to quickly move through the air. So, in case of an accident with the release of hazardous chemicals, compounds moving with a surface wind flow can spread to tens of kilometers. At the same time, on their way they strike everything around. Accidents with the release of accidentally chemical hazardous substances are divided into categories depending on the scale of the zone of infection. So, private, regional, object, local, global catastrophes can occur. The latter category includes accidents with the release of chemically hazardous substances in the world. Examples of these disasters show how serious the problem of using toxic compounds by a person is.

MPC and "toxodosis"

The first abbreviation means "the maximum permissible concentration" of toxic substances. Also, along with this concept, the term "toxodosis" (toxic dose) is also used. These definitions characterize the properties of harmful compounds. The maximum allowable content is a concentration that, with a daily effect on the human body over an extended period, does not cause disease or pathological changes that can be detected using modern diagnostic methods. The MPC refers to a working eight-hour day. This indicator is not used to assess harm in an accident with the release of chemically hazardous substances. The concept of "toxodosis" is widely used in the world. This indicator reflects the amount of compounds that can cause toxic effects.

Features

It should be noted that accidents with the release of hazardous chemicals (a photo of some disasters are presented in the article) are characterized by a limited period of harmful components. The amount of damage to the environment and the person will depend on the scale and toxicity of the compounds. In an accident with the release of hazardous chemicals (examples in the world - a confirmation of this) is not only a threat to health, but often the lives of people.

Accidents with emission of chemically hazardous substances: examples of emergency situations abroad

In 2012, January 17, it became known about the disaster in Brühl at one of the factories for the production of equipment. As a result of the accident, a chemical reaction occurred, a cloud of chlorine was formed. In the disaster, 39 people were injured. Of these, 16 were sent to the hospital. A total of 300 employees were evacuated from the plant. June 27, 2011 in the US, the state of Arkansas, one of the processing enterprises that belonged to the largest meat manufacturer Tyson Foods, an accident occurred, resulting in the poisoning of chlorine received 170 workers. As noted by local media, the cause of the accident was the accidental mixing of various toxic compounds. At the moment of emergency at the enterprise there were about 600 employees. 173 people were hospitalized.

Transport emergency situations in different countries

On May 20, 2012 near the German railway station Mülheim the freight train carrying chemicals was derailed. As a result of the accident, a large amount of sodium chloroacetate, bitumen and oil tar spilled out. Within a radius of 0.5 km, people were evacuated, and the railway branch itself was temporarily closed. In 2011, on July 11, near the city of Debelets (Bulgaria), a tanker truck that was traveling from Turkey turned over. As a result of the accident, vinylbenzene was leaked. About 2.5 thousand people were evacuated from the affected area. In the same year, near the Buckingham Palace, a tank of chemicals fell out of the truck. As a result of this catastrophe, people were not evacuated. However, the authorities cordoned off the area within a radius of 25 meters.

Statistics of the Russian Federation

Between 1985 and 1990, about 120 major catastrophes occurred at domestic enterprises. These incidents were associated with the storage, transportation and use in the production of toxic compounds. During 1994, there were about a thousand disasters of this type. In Russia today there are about 3,000 chemically dangerous objects.

Registered cases in the Russian Federation

Accidents with the release of hazardous chemicals, examples of which will be described later, have occurred for various reasons. In general, accidents happen due to technical errors, mechanical damage, depressurization of containers, collisions with transport. In 2013, it became known about the accident in Lipetsk. The catastrophe occurred at a local metallurgical plant. As a result of the release of weed benzene during the accident, 2 people were killed. The state of emergency was not accompanied by burning and explosion. During the rescue operation, the employees of the plant were evacuated. There was no fixed threat to the lives of the population of the surrounding areas.

Incidents in 2012

Unfortunately, accidents with the release of hazardous chemicals in Russia (examples of them can be found in the literature more often than the description of emergency situations in other countries) are not uncommon. So, in 2012, several major catastrophes were recorded:

• In the Perm region, in Berezniki, an accident occurred at the Avisma plant on November 14. This catastrophe claimed the lives of three men. 21 people were hospitalized in this accident. Initially, it was reported that the death of people was due to the leakage of chlorine. However, as representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs later stated, another irritant was thrown into the air. The catastrophe at the enterprise was due to the work with the fan turned off.
• At the Devon plant producing polymers, in the village of Levashovo in the Vyborgsky district of St. Petersburg, three hundred people suffered from a spill of 100 liters of methyl isocyanate.
• In Moscow, on June 12, an ammonia discharge in a volume of 1 liter occurred at one of the cold storage facilities. At the moment of emergency on the territory of the enterprise there were 12 people. All employees were evacuated. Victims of this disaster was not.
• The end of May, also in Moscow, on one of the fruit and vegetable bases there was a release of freon. This compound was used in the production of aerosols and perfumes, for extinguishing fires and in the operation of refrigeration plants. As a result of this accident, 4 people were injured.
• In Kurgan, on May 19, 20 liters of a chlorine-containing compound were bottled at a local pharmaceutical factory. The catastrophe occurred in shop number 1, in the block for the production of a synthetic drug. The connection spread over an area of 10 m ² . As a result, the state of emergency suffered three.
• On May 17, a chlorine leak was detected at the Korund plant in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region. One employee was hospitalized with poisoning. Seven victims received assistance directly on the spot. In the medical facilities after the incident, 8 more people applied.

Catastrophes in the Russian Federation in 2010

November 22, a pipeline breakthrough occurred at one of the cold storage facilities in the north of Moscow. It contained ammonia. The emergency occurred due to the depressurization of the pipe. At the same time, automatic protection was activated, as a result of which the supply of ammonia was terminated. Employees of the company were evacuated. In the disaster there were no victims. In Yekaterinburg, on October 21, there was an emission of odorant (a chemically dangerous compound). A pair of winds carried Mr. Berezovsky and Kalinovka to the sides. The specialists quickly discovered the leakage area and blocked it. Using a manganese solution, rescuers also neutralized the compound in the soil. Threats to people were not. On the night of February 14-15, in Krasnokamsk, ZAO "Proikhimperm" was overflowing the solvent. During the work, the hose exploded. As a result, 2 m ^{3 of} solvent were spilled onto the site. Under the slope, the connection went through the sewer to the sewage treatment plant and then to the reservoir. As a result of this emergency, without water, there were more than 50 thousand people, as the supply was disconnected for the time of eliminating the consequences of the disaster.

Transport accidents with the release of chemically hazardous substances in Russia: examples

In 2012, on February 6, in the Novosibirsk region at the station. Swamp has caused the leakage of ammonia hydrate from the railway tank. During the parking lot, a quarter of the volume of content flowed out. Part of the ammonia spread along the route. Together with the freight train, the leaking tank arrived at the station. Khimzavodskaya of the Kuibyshev Railway. There she was unhooked and sent to a dead end. A year earlier, in 2011, in early November, a tanker truck with ammonia water capsized . Of the total volume (12 tons), about 200 liters flowed out. Arrived firefighters washed away the solution. The neck of the tank was sealed. At the station Chelyabinsk (Main) in the same year, on the night of September 1 in one of the cars was found smoke. During the inspection, it was found that it contained bromine in glass containers. Several of them broke. Employees of the station in operative order the car was transported to a safe distance. A cordon was put up. On the same day, the spill of bromine was completely eliminated. According to the Investigation Committee, 132 people were affected by the release of fumes, 52 of them were sent to the hospital.

Finally

This is far from all accidents with the release of chemically hazardous substances in Russia. The examples given in the article are only officially known cases. Some catastrophes were not publicized. Probably, this is due to their small scale. However, it should be said that whatever it is, in any case, toxic compounds cause irreparable harm to people and the environment. Accidents with the release of hazardous chemicals in Russia - one of the main problems facing the government. The most acute is the issue of protecting the population from toxic effects. To improve the safety of facilities in order to prevent accidents with the release of chemically hazardous substances, in Russia, the personnel training system must be improved, equipment upgraded, and the rules of conduct at such enterprises more stringent.