Similar Cases:

Explosion in an Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer Manufacturing Plant (Terra Corp.)

Explosion in a Chemical Blending Vessel Due To Unrecognized Explosion Hazard

Explosion of a Urea Autoclave Vessel in a Fertilizer Plant

Mechanical Seal Failure and Explosion in a Chemical Blending Vessel

Fire and Explosions at an Ammonium Perchlorate Plant (PEPCON)

In 1987, a fire of unknown origin broke out at a large ammonium perchlorate manufacturing plant in Henderson, Nevada. Ammonium perchlorate is an oxidizer in solid rocket propellant. The plant was owned by PEPCON. The fire quickly got out of control, and eventually led to the detonation of thousands of pounds of the chemical stored at the site. The detonation demolished the plant and its shock wave caused significant property damage in nearby Las Vegas. The subrogating insurance carriers hired APTECH to investigate the accident. Our work included examining and documenting the accident site, testing subscale chemical containers, reconstructing and locating the explosion sequence, and analyzing the metallurgical condition of an underground natural gas pipeline. This case settled in favor of the subrogating carriers. The nearly $90 million settlement amount was the largest of its kind in Nevada history.

Satish Almaula		Plant failure and root cause analysis; process and design engineering analysis; process technology development and testing; plant engineering, operations, maintenance and safety management; plant and process control system management.

Kimble Clark, Ph.D.		Failure analysis, heat transfer & thermodynamics, process plant equipment failures & explosions, fuel science, combustion, industrial fires and explosions.

Richard Schreiber, P.E.		Machinery and mechanical device failure analysis, mechanical testing, combustion and heat transfer, industrial fires and explosions, gas appliances.

Geoffrey Egan, Ph.D.		Engineering mechanics, welding engineering, stress and fatigue analysis, risk analysis, nondestructive examination, project management.

Philip Lindsay, P.E.		Corrosion failure analysis, metallurgy, piping systems, corrosion mitigation, materials selection.