We have had another catastrophic failure of a pressure vessel used in an ammonia refrigeration process and this time we caught it on camera. The event occurred last week and unfortunately, I have not heard of any causes or if anything special was happening within the process when this failure occurred. This picture shows us part of the small vessel lying in the area of the failure. Reports are that this was a small vessel, only 150-gallon water capacity; so I am at odds as to what this vessel role was in the refrigeration process. From all acounts, this is a large facility with the capacity to slaughter 25,000 chickens per day and covers over 2 million square feet of processing and warehousing. I was told that the release involved more than 100,000 pounds of NH3, which could have, and was most likely, the entire contents of the process. Here is the press release from the slaughterhouse (Translated using Google):
In the late morning of this Monday, November 4th, we had an incident with the ammonia reservoir located outside the company premises, which ruptured, causing the liquid to leak. Approximately ten people inhaled the product, receiving first aid at the company until transfer to the emergency unit. The affected people remain under observation at UPA and Santa Casa de Misericórdia of Campo Belo, with stable health. The company took all possible and appropriate immediate action, working with all technical staff in the areas of safety and environment, together with the presence of the Fire and Military and Environmental Police. It should be noted that a company that specializes in handling this product has already been started and is in place to avoid any possibility of environmental damage in the removal of waste. Also, we emphasize that the company is up to date with all mandatory technical reports of facilities and equipment. We stress our concern for the total safety of our employees and we are available for any needs regarding what happened. SANTANA CHICKEN Santana do Jacaré Ind. And Com. De Carnes Ltda. November 4, 2,019
“The blast occurred around 12:20 pm and injured several people. According to the UPA, 10 workers were treated with symptoms caused by ammonia. According to the city, an employee was rescued in serious condition and taken to the Campo Belo Hospital (MG). With the explosion, the entire slaughterhouse surroundings had to be evacuated. Five people from the same family, neighboring the slaughterhouse, also had to be hospitalized. They failed to get out on time. The effect of the gas was so strong that the backyard and garden plants withered.”
Here is the video, from the security camera outside of the City Hall of Santana do Jacaré (MG), which captured the failure in spectacular fashion:
1/3/2020 UPDATE with four (4) scene photos, one is a close up of the tear in the vessel wall.