OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #708511
EXPLOSIVE MIXING,EXPLOSION,SPARK
Event description
PROPELLANT EXPLOSION IN MIXING FACILITY
Investigation abstract
ON JANUARY 3, 1985, AT APPROXIMATELY 4:15 PM, THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION IN THE PROP ELLANT MIXING FACILITY (BUILDING M-24). THE FACILITY WAS HAVING TROUBLE WITH ITS CONTROL SYSTEM, DUE TO LIGHTNING, AND HAD SHUT DOWN PENDING THE ARRIVAL OF ELEC TRONIC MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL. THE MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL ARRIVED AND PUT THE FACI LITY BACK INTO OPERATION. HOWEVER, THE PANEL BOARD STARTED INDICATING ALL TYPES OF PROBLEMS AND THE MIX BOWL STARTED TO LOWER ITSELF. FOR UNKNOWN REASONS, THE M IXER STARTED STRIKING THE SIDES OF THE BOWL. THIS IGNITED APPROXIMATELY 7,000 PO UNDS OF PROPELLANT WHICH WAS BEING MIXED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES, BUT BUILDING M -24 WAS DESTROYED AND ADJACENT BUILDINGS WERE DAMAGED.
Victim
-
#981 Degree 0 Age 0
- Nature of injury
- 0
- Part of body
- 0
- Event type
- 0
- Source
- 0
- Occupation code
- 0
- Human factor
- 0
- Environmental factor
- 0
- Task assigned
- 0
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.