Tanks eruption from

A 73-percent caustic soda tank is partially filled with water to clean it and a steam/caus-tic mix erupts from the vessel. 

A Violent Eruption from a Tank Being Prepared for Maintenance... 

A violent eruption from a tank being prepared for maintenance... 

Started to rise from the reaction, causing the vessel bottom head to fail at the weld seam. The force from the escaping gases propelled the tank into the ceiling and overhead structural steel. A small fire erupted which was quickly brought under control by the automatic sprinkler system. Even though the chemists had reviewed the chemistry and did not anticipate any problems, use testing could have identified this problem in the laboratory rather than the plant. 

Incident Description An explosion and fire erupted in storage tanks containing flammable hydrocarbons and wastewater. Hot work near the storage tanks probably ignited the explosion. Three employees were killed and three others were injured. Two later died os a result of their injuries. Employees at the plant and nearby offices, and residents from the town of Rouseville were evacuated. 

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