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Entries for April 2003
Tuesday
Apr 29 |
Dighi-Kalas, India - One worker died and 7 others were injured when vapors of hydrochloric acid leaked from a container in an electroplating department. Police said the incident happened when the premises of the department was being cleaned. More information |
Tuesday
Apr 29 |
Kings Mountain, NC - Employees were evacuated after a chemical reaction occurred inside the plant. The incident was caused by a chemical spilling on the mixing room floor. No injuries were reported. More information |
Tuesday
Apr 29 |
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia - One worker died and 3 other were injured from an acid spill at a pulp and paper mill. More information |
Sunday
Apr 27 |
Adelaide, Australia - Fire crews were called to a plant after tarpaulins covering large quantities of chemicals caught fire in an open storage area of the factory. More information |
Saturday
Apr 26 |
Falcon State, Venezuela - A gas oil processing plant was shut down after a fire broke out in one of four hydrosulphurization units. The fire was extinguished by employees. More information |
Saturday
Apr 26 |
Pittsburgh, PA - A fire that destroyed a wood column manufacturing business caused the evacuation of about 20 residents, police said. The fire spread from the building and destroyed 3 nearby homes. The cause of the fire is not yet known. More information |
Saturday
Apr 26 |
Nikiski, AK - A worker was burned while doing electrical maintenance work at a refinery. Dust from the procedure flashed when it came into contact with a nearby switch that still had electricity going to it. More information |
Friday
Apr 25 |
Anzotegui, Venezuela - One worker was killed and 3 other injured in an explosion and fire at a plant that produces methyl tertiary butyl ether. The plant suffered minor damage. More information |
Tuesday
Apr 22 |
Houston, TX - A bridge over the San Jacinto River was closed for about 6 hours after a truck carrying glacial methacrylic acid caught fire when its brakes locked up. Liquid spilled from 3 drums damaged in the fire. More information |
Sunday
Apr 20 |
Wynyard, Tasmania - A gas leak at a milk company forced the evacuations of staff and nearby residents. Police said a crack in a steel tank holding hydrochloric acid caused the leak. More information |
Saturday
Apr 19 |
Cambridge, MD - More than 200 firefighters fought a 10-alarm fire at 3 warehouses that caused at least $2 million in damage. No injuries were reported. More information |
Saturday
Apr 19 |
Martigues, France - Heavy fuel oil accidentally spilled into an oil port due to a malfunction during the filling of a tanker. According to reports the incident occurred because of a valve failure in a catchment basin. More information |
Friday
Apr 18 |
Qianging, China - An explosion at a textile plant killed 5 workers and injured 4 others when a machine used to print designs on cloth blew up starting a fire that collapsed the ceiling. More information |
Thursday
Apr 17 |
Dundee, Scotland - A toxic chemical spill created a cloud of chlorine gas when a shelf collapsed as workers were moving jars of acid. Workers were evacuated but no injuries were reported. More information |
Monday
Apr 14 |
Sarnia, Ontario - A power cut caused flaring and releases at 6 petrochemical companies. The cause of the power cut was due to a broken insulator on a high-voltage transmission line. More information |
Sunday
Apr 13 |
Caivano, Italy - An explosion at a paint factory killed 4 workers and injured another. Workers on an overnight shift reported a problem with a nitrogen tank and called in an outside technician. An explosion occurred in the area of the tank. A fifth worker was slightly injured in the blast. More information |
Sunday
Apr 13 |
Gretzenbach, Switzerland - A large explosion occurred in a paper mill causing heavy damage but no injuries. The explosion occurred on the east side of the plant and caused a small fire. Parts of the front wall of the building were thrown several yards. More information |
Sunday
Apr 13 |
Palestine, TX - Three teenagers died and 2 were injured after a petroleum tank exploded in the western part of the county. The teens reportedly climbed up on the tank and opened the hatch and one of the teens used a lighter to see inside. The lighter ignited vapors from a few inches of oil in the tank. More information |
Saturday
Apr 12 |
Perm region, Russia - One person was killed when 33 rail tankers containing a propane-butane blend were involved in a series of explosions and fires. The train was unloading when a pipe came off one of the tankers which exploded. Three other explosions followed, igniting 8 tanks. More information |
Friday
Apr 11 |
Jharkhand, Palamu district, India - One person died and 18 were seriously affected after they inhaled chlorine gas from a leaking pipe of a chemical factory. More information |
Thursday
Apr 10 |
Port Dickson, Malaysia - About 15 gas cylinders stored in a fenced-up yard exploded due to hot weather, a spokesman said. No casualties were reported. More information |
Wednesday
Apr 09 |
Gila River Indian Community, AZ - Three workers were burned in a flash fire at a company the makes explosive devices for military and commercial aerospace customers. The 3 were the only employees present when the propellant burst into flames in the companys powder processing building. More information |
Tuesday
Apr 08 |
Dieulouard, France - An explosion occurred in a propane pipeline at a concrete factory. There were no injuries and damage was minor. More information |
Tuesday
Apr 08 |
Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan - A fire began at a hot springs drilling site when a worker set off a natural gas explosion by lighting a cigarette. The gas fire burned for 15 hours until it was extinguished by pouring sand over the site. Three workers were injured. More information |
Monday
Apr 07 |
Shandong province, China - At least 21 people were killed in a fire at a food-processing factory. The building collapsed in the blaze trapping many of the workers. More information |
Monday
Apr 07 |
Toronto, Canada - A fire broke out in a mixing vessel, burning one employee who was taken to the hospital for treatment. The fire, which may have been caused by static electricity, was extinguished by firefighting chemicals. More information |
Saturday
Apr 05 |
Red Wing, MN - A train carrying methanol derailed just outside of downtown Red Wing causing a shutdown of the track. Twenty-nine of the 81 cars went off the track. Three of the derailed cars were tankers carrying methanol, but only a small amount spilled. More information |
Friday
Apr 04 |
Norwich, CT - An electrical short that occurred when a maintenance worker tried to change a circuit breaker caused an explosion that seriously burned the man. The Fire Marshal said the victim tried to change a breaker and inadvertently crossed positive and negative wires. More information |
Wednesday
Apr 02 |
Neuendorf, Germany - A truck carrying insecticide ran off the road and hit a bridge pillar, catching fire. The resulting smoke contained hydrogen cyanide ammonia and hydrochloric acid, but police said it posed no threat to nearby residents. More information |
Wednesday
Apr 02 |
Corinth, Greece - An explosion in a pipe-making factory killed at least 6 people and injured 3. Workers said the blast occurred while 3 of those who were killed were replacing an oxygen cylinder. More information |
Tuesday
Apr 01 |
Vakaner, India - Four people were killed and 15 injured when an oil tanker collided with a passenger train causing an explosion and fire in 3 coaches. The incident occurred when the tanker crashed into the train at an unmanned railroad crossing. More information |
Tuesday
Apr 01 |
Geleen, Netherlands - Three people died and 2 were injured in an explosion at a factory operated by a specialty chemicals group. The blast occurred in a salt oven. More information |
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