Be Prepared For The Worst -- Chemical Accidents Happen

    Aug. 16, 2009

    I regularly monitor chemical accidents in the news. It's a way to help me understand the dangers that Chemical Processing readers face on a daily basis. Manufacturing can be a dangerous profession. Add chemicals to the mix and the potential hazards grow exponentially. The best defense is being prepared for the worst.

    Indeed, just last week a chemical leak at the Bayer CropScience plant in Kansas City, Mo., was quickly contained by Kansas City hazmat crews and Bayer emergency crews.

    I regularly monitor chemical accidents in the news. It's a way to help me understand the dangers that Chemical Processing readers face on a daily basis. Manufacturing can be a dangerous profession. Add chemicals to the mix and the potential hazards grow exponentially. The best defense is being prepared for the worst.

    Indeed, just last week a chemical leak at the Bayer CropScience plant in Kansas City, Mo., was quickly contained by Kansas City hazmat crews and Bayer emergency crews.

    According to Bayer officials, anhydrous hydrogen chloride leaked from a container being offloaded from a rail car. The plant manager credits extensive training of the staff as the reason the situation was quickly contained.

    "We have a monitoring system so immediately we had a coded alarm informing all employees that our emergency brigade crew went into response mode," Bayer Science Crop Manager Paul Nagy said.

    Does your site have a monitoring system in place? Do your employees receive emergency-preparedness training?

    Traci Purdum
    Senior Digital Editor

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