C&EN: CSB publishes report on 2020 Optima Belle explosion

Via C&EN, this update on the Optima Belle explosion in West Virginia in 2021 (article by Jeff Johnson): 

The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has completed two more incident investigations, cutting the number of incomplete, outstanding reports to six, one of its lowest backlogs in years. Altogether, the board has issued a dozen reports over the past year.

The new two reports present the root causes of a 2020 explosion at the Optima Chemical facility in Belle, West Virginia, and a 2019 tank farm fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) facility in Deer Park, Texas.

The Optima explosion occurred during production of a sanitizing compound on behalf of the pool chemical firm Clearon. A dryer at the facility was removing water from the compound and exploded, resulting in the death of an employee, $33 million in property damage, and a shelter-in-place order for the nearby community.

The CSB found the cause to be a runaway chemical reaction and overpressurization of the dryer. Optima did not adequately understand the potential for, or detect and mitigate, the self-accelerating reaction, the board says. Also contributing to the incident was the fact that Clearon, Optima’s customer, did not transmit sufficient process safety information to Optima. Both companies also had ineffective process safety management systems, according to the report.

If you work in chemical manufacturing, I strongly urge you to read the report. It is terrifying to note that the entire organization had the signs that they were in trouble in front of them, but they did not see the signs until they were too late and someone died. Let us know we can learn from this example, and all others in the past.