2019 YANCHENG CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION

One of the biggest chemical accidents in the world happened in china at the Jiangsu tianjiayi chemical company on the outskirts of the city of yanvheng in Jiangsu province. The incident took place on 22^nd march 2019 around 3pm in the evening.

The root cause of the accident was mainly due to poor management administration. Workers did not have proper work methods and the machines and processes were outdated and not maintained properly. “The immediate cause of the accident was due to a truck carrying natural gas which caught fire due to static current and this set off an explosion in a benzene storage area“.

The explosion was massive and it created a tremor of 2.2magnitude on a Richter scale. The blast shattered windows of buildings for over 5kms radius. The incident had killed 67 workers and injured over 600 people. More than 4000 people were evacuated to a 10kms radius around the plant.

Traces of harmful chemicals such as toluene, xylene and benzene were found all over the evacuated area. Other gases such as acetone and chloroform were found to be slightly higher than normal but within the safe limits.

The Chinese government has taken serious actions to avoid a similar accident occurring again. The executives who were responsible were punished. The company was put under investigation and sealed off. Workers and affected people were provided compensations for their losses.

Reason for Explosion & How to Over Come

But in my personal opinion this is not enough. China being one of the biggest manufacturers of chemicals in the world. They have had many repeated chemical plant accidents in the past. The main reason for this is due to poor operating systems and standards that they have in their industries.

More inspections from the government would help improve this situation. The company the other hand could use more competent workers, follow some international standard for reference. Risk assessments at regular intervals. Proper training to workers on the safe use of equipment and transportation of chemical substances. Most of the accidents happen because of the lack of knowledge and effects that various chemicals could have in the workplace.

Ignorance is also another reason for accidents so educating workers of the possible hazards using at risk cards, third party safety courses, putting up safety signs and awareness posters around the workplace could help. At the end of the day it is important to know the significance of safety procedures and the impact these accidents would have on the company, the society and the environment at large.

Blog written by:
Mr. Varun
HSE Trainer & Consultant,
Green World Group,