| Case Name |
Fire of an oil mud pit caused due to easy-going disposal methods of waste at oil disposal facilities |
| Pictograph |
|
| Date |
May 27, 1998 |
| Place |
Kobe, Hyogo, Japan |
| Location |
Waste treatment plant |
| Overview |
At the waste oil disposal facilities of a waste disposal factory, a worker tried to move waste oil mud to an incinerator by a crane bucket. The oil mud was ignited by the furnace and burned. When the contents of the bucket were returned to the oil mud pit after the fire was extinguished, a fire occurred in the oil mud pit. The cause of the accident is as follows. Work using a closed system with piping was done by an open system. Flammable waste oil was mixed with oil mud. |
| Incident |
At waste oil disposal facilities of a disposal treatment company, waste oil mud was moved to an incinerator by a crane bucket (Refer to Fig2). The waste oil in the crane bucket was ignited by fire in the furnace, and burned. An attempt was made to return the contents of the bucket to the oil mud pit after extinguishing the fire. The oil mud in the pit ignited, and a fire occurred. |
| Processing |
Waste and disposal |
| Process Flow |
Fig2.Unit process flow
|
| Substance |
Waste oil |
| Type of Accident |
Fire |
| Sequence |
Piping from an oil mud pit to an incinerator broke.
As the piping could not be used, oil mud was scooped up by a crane bucket.
The oil mud in the bucket was to be dumped into the hopper of the incinerator.
The contents of the bucket ignited before it was dumped.
A worker tried to return the oil mud in the bucket to the pit after extinguishing the fire.
The oil mud ignited in the pit, and a fire occurred. |
| Cause |
As the piping had broken, transportation through the piping was impossible. Therefore, a worker tried to dump oil mud using a crane bucket. The waste oil mud came close to the furnace which had no cover. In addition, the contents of the bucket were returned to the oil mud pit without confirming that the fire had been completely extinguished.
Flammable waste oil mud was brought close to the furnace. This was a too thoughtless action. |
| Knowledge Comment |
Low flammable materials ignite easily if mixed with highly flammable oil. It is hazardous to mix different waste oils. |
| Background |
Recognition of hazardous work was insufficient in the entire factory. The transportation of oil mud was to be performed through a closed system using piping. However, transportation work was thoughtlessly changed to an open system because the piping had broken. Flammable waste oil mixed with industrial waste and was dumped into the oil mud pit. It seems that unawareness of hazards of waste disposal treatment produced a hazardous situation. |
| Reason for Adding to DB |
Example of fire caused due to incineration of waste oil contaminated with light oil |
| Scenario |
| Primary Scenario
|
Poor Value Perception, Poor Safety Awareness, Inadequate Risk Recognition, Organizational Problems, Inflexible Management Structure, Insufficient Education/Training, Carelessness, Insufficient Precaution, Inadequate Handling, Usage, Disposal, Incineration, Non-Regular Action, Change, Procedure Change, Secondary Damage, External Damage, Fire, Bodily Harm, Injury, 4 person injured
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| Sources |
Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Oil mud pit fire caused by ignition from oil incineration facility, Accident cases of dangerous materials, 1998, pp.382-383.
|
| Number of Injuries |
4 |
| Physical Damage |
A waste oil pit was damaged. A crane bucket and a hydraulic shovel partially burned. |
| Financial Cost |
Under ¥ 10,000. (Fire and Disaster Management Agency). |
| Field |
Chemicals and Plants
|
| Author |
OGAWA, Terushige (Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University)
YOSHINAGA, Jun (Graduate School of New Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo)
TAMURA, Masamitsu (Center for Risk Management and Safety Sciences, Yokohama National University)
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