In the last 20 years there have been 167 serious reactive chemical accidents in the USA and these accidents have killed 108 workers!  Yes! 108 deaths.  One would have thought with the amount of knowledge on runaway reactions that these incidents should be no longer occurring.  The Chemical Safety and Investigation Board (CSB) continue to provide details of shocking recent incidents which are mostly in the chemical, as opposed to the pharmaceutical industry.  A recent incident at Synthron, (Morgantown, NJ) who used to manufacture acrylic polymers used in paints and coatings, involved increasing the batch size to meet a large order.  The heat of reaction could not be controlled resulting in a flammable explosion, killing a maintenance supervisor and injuring 14 workers.  The explosion destroyed the plant, a home and two churches, as well as the reputation of the chemical industry (for a video  and further information on this incident see www.csb.gov).  This incident was also highlighted last year in C and E News (Aug 6, 2007, p29).

A further runaway was reported in C and E News, Jan 16th, 2008, p11 and involved a reaction using metallic sodium to make methylcyclopentadiene manganese tricarbonyl, an additive used to boost gasoline octane rating.  A small company, T2 Laboratories, based in Jacksonville, Florida, had a runaway in a pressure reactor.  When the vessel contents were ejected from the reactor, they ignited releasing a large amount of heat.  Four workers were killed and 12 more injured,  a few days before Xmas last year.  Debris was found a mile from the blast, and parts of the reactor weighing hundreds of kg were discovered 200 metres away.  More details on this incident are available, with graphic photos, on the CSB website.