Abstract
A DECISION TO HASTEN the restart of a pesticide production process and bypass safety controls led to a tragic accident on Aug. 28, 2008, at the Bayer CropScience plant in Institute, W.Va., concludes the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), in a report released on Jan. 20. The accident destroyed a key pesticide manufacturing unit, killed two workers, required 40,000 people living near the plant to shelter in place, and revealed gross inadequacies in Bayer’s accident emergency response operations. Workers at the Bayer plant were under pressure to resume production of the pesticides methomyl and Larvin after a lengthy maintenance shutdown, according to the CSB investigation. As a result, they failed to evaluate new computer programs, inspect safety equipment, and conduct safety process checks. Most critical, the report says, was the intentional overriding of an interlock system that was designed to prevent a runaway reaction inside a residue treater pressure vessel. Late at ...
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