Fatal incidents at two chemical plants

An ammonia leak at a fertiliser plant run by Petronas Chemical Group in Sipitang, Malaysia, killed two and injured three maintenance workers on 16 August after they inhaled the gas leaking from a nearby pipe. The company told local media the incident is under investigation but ‘posed no immediate threat to the surrounding communities or environment’, and the leak has since been fixed.

Meanwhile, one person died in an explosion in the loading bay of an Airgas chemical plant in Cantonment, Florida, on 28 August. The accident is thought to have involved a tank of nitrous oxide, but the exact cause is still being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In a statement Airgas said there were ‘no off-site impacts’. Ascent Performance Materials, whose plant is adjacent to the site of the blast, said none of their staff had been injured.