By OGJ editors
WASHINGTON, DC, July 6 --The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) will hold a public meeting in Washington, DC, July 15 to consider a new safety bulletin for methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) producers.
CSB recently reviewed a Jan. 11 explosion and fire that occurred at a 10-year-old petrochemical plant owned by Huntsman Petrochemical Corp. in Port Neches, Tex. The board declined to do a full investigation although two CSB investigators did spend 2 days at the plant site following the accident (OGJ Online, Jan. 15, 2004).
Board investigators say the fire occurred as workers prepared a process pipe for scheduled maintenance within a 27,000 b/d unit that produces MTBE.
CSB officials said plant personnel did not know at the time that the pipe contained residual feedstock chemicals. As part of the shutdown, workers directed steam through the pipe and inadvertently caused the residual chemicals inside to overheat and decompose. Accumulating pressure ruptured the pipe, releasing a flammable vapor cloud that then ignited, investigators said.
Two workers were hospitalized and several others suffered minor injuries from the explosion and fire. CSB officials said their proposed safety bulletin discusses causes of the accident and reviews good practices for preventing incidents when lines and equipment are opened.
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies, including the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
