Word: tanks
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...week after 45 tons of methyl isocyanate leaked out of the plant, leaving more than 2,500 people dead in the worst industrial disaster ever, the facility was preparing to resume operations temporarily. About 15 tons of the deadly chemical still remained in storage tank No. 619. If it were allowed to stay there indefinitely, it could turn into gas and start leaking again. After much deliberation, a team of top Indian and American scientists decided that the safest solution was to reopen the facility for five days or so, just long enough to process the excess methyl isocyanate into...
...Carlos de la Rapita, Spain, July 11,1978. An overloaded 38-ton tank truck carrying 1,518 cu. ft. of combustible propylene gas skidded around a bend in the road and slammed into a wall, sending 100-ft.-high flames into a campsite where 780 tourists were eating, sunbathing and swimming. The death toll...
Cleveland, Oct. 20,1944. A liquefied-natural-gas tank belonging to the East Ohio Gas Co. developed a structural weakness that led to a huge explosion. The blast and fire killed...
...involve the transportation of chemicals. In elaborate detail, the Department of Transportation has compiled regulations for the handling of 3,000 dangerous products. Says Thomas Charlton, chief of the standards division in the department's office of hazardous materials: "We regulate every container from laboratory jars to railroad tank cars...
Trucks used for shipping chemicals must be strong enough to survive a rollover without breaking open, and tank cars a derailment. Hydrogen cyanide, a lethal poison, can be transported only in carriers with 1-in.-thick, high-strength steel bulkheads. When a railroad car carrying petrochemicals overturns, the reason may be loose rails, which can break off from their ties and puncture the front of an oncoming tank car. Therefore, industry rules were established that call for adding more insulation and head shields. Cost: $452 million...