The 2008 explosion at the WV Bayer plant resulted in the deaths of two employees. Debris from the blast hit the shield surrounding an MIC storage tank. The storage container avoided damage, but a CSB investigation found that debris could have struck a relief valve vent pipe, which would have released MIC into the atmosphere. Bayer has since ceased production at the plant.
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers
Monday, May 14, 2012
National Research Council Reports on Bayer's Chemical Hazard Control
According to a report from National Research Council, Bayer CropScience sought to reduce risks associated with the manufacture and storage of methyl isocyanate (MIC) at its Institute, WV, processing plant, but the company did not make an effort to incorporate all possible hazard control methods. The Committee on Inherently Safer Chemical Processes, which wrote the report, recommends that U.S. Chemical Safety Board develop a framework to help chemical plant managers choose among alternative processing options to develop a safer chemical manufacturing system.
The 2008 explosion at the WV Bayer plant resulted in the deaths of two employees. Debris from the blast hit the shield surrounding an MIC storage tank. The storage container avoided damage, but a CSB investigation found that debris could have struck a relief valve vent pipe, which would have released MIC into the atmosphere. Bayer has since ceased production at the plant.
The 2008 explosion at the WV Bayer plant resulted in the deaths of two employees. Debris from the blast hit the shield surrounding an MIC storage tank. The storage container avoided damage, but a CSB investigation found that debris could have struck a relief valve vent pipe, which would have released MIC into the atmosphere. Bayer has since ceased production at the plant.
