Website: Barton Solvents, Wichita Facility in Valley Centre, Kansas
Incident: Naphtha Tank explosion from static accumulation throughout offloading
Date: July 17, 2007, at about 9 a.m.
Accidents: Eleven residents and one firefighter obtained medical remedy
Background: The preliminary explosion occurred quickly after the tank farm supervisor began the switch of the ultimate compartment of a tanker-trailer containing Varnish Makers’ and
Painters’ (VM&P) naphtha right into a 15,000 gallon above-ground storage tank. VM&P naphtha is a Nationwide Fireplace Safety Affiliation (NFPA) Class IB flammable liquid (Flash level: beneath 22.8 °C (73 °F) & Boiling level: at or above 37.8 °C (100 °F)) that may produce ignitable vapour-air mixtures inside tanks and, as a result of of its low electrical conductivity, can accumulate harmful ranges of static electrical energy.
The explosion propelled the VM&P tank into the air, pouring out a plume of smoke and flames from the burning liquid earlier than it landed roughly 130 ft away. Witnesses heard the blast and noticed the fireball from a number of miles away. Inside moments, two further tanks ruptured, releasing their contents into the quickly intensifying hearth, which was largely contained throughout the earthen bund surrounding the tank farm.
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