Chapter 15 - Accidents in Other Industries

Abstract

This chapter discusses that going through the case studies of accidents that happened in the industries can eliminate the risk of accident to a great extent. In a case study of an explosion in a Canadian coal mine in 1992, which killed 27 people and led to the bankruptcy of the parent company, there was an explosion of methane, which set off a coal dust explosion. The source of ignition was probably spark formed by mining machinery striking rock. Reasons highlighted as the cause of accident were: inadequate ventilation, which allowed to form the explosive mixtures of methane and air, the methods for detecting methane were also inadequate and mining was allowed to continue when such methods were inoperable, and too much coal dust was allowed to accumulate, it is normal practice to dilute coal dust with stone dust to prevent explosions but not enough stone dust was used as stocks were too low. This case study can serve to eliminate the risk in other industries as well. The chapter also illustrates marine accidents, which are process accidents, similar to many that have occurred, or could occur, in chemical plants and human error— poor maintenance, watch keepers falling asleep, poor training or supervision, error-prone designs, and lack of protective features,