Thinking about fire accident caused by yellow phosphorus barrel

According to reports, at 13 o'clock noon on a certain day, a yellow phosphorus plant in the urban area of ​​Panzhihua City delivered yellow phosphorus on its way to a different place. One truck of yellow phosphorus spontaneously ignited, causing fire and causing serious air pollution. By about 17 o'clock in the afternoon, the yellow phosphorus at the site was completely covered and the pollution sources were controlled. The accident resulted in a suffocating migrant worker who died of suffocation and five who had burned mildly.

After the accident, there was heavy fog in some areas of Yanbian County and the urban areas, and there was a certain pungent smell in the air. After receiving the report, the main leaders of the Panzhihua Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government immediately led the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, the Municipal Security Office, the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the Municipal Fire Brigade to go to the scene to organize and direct the rescue and quickly control the situation. After preliminary investigation and analysis, this is a sudden pollution accident caused by improper packaging of yellow phosphorus barrels.

Afterwards, after investigation by related departments, it was found that the yellow phosphorus in transportation was packaged by galvanized steel barrels. However, due to leakage quality accidents in the packaging barrels, all the sealed water in the barrels leaked, causing spontaneous combustion of yellow phosphorus.

The author has found information on yellow phosphorus. The data shows that the physical and chemical properties of yellow phosphorus are: colorless wax-like crystals with a garlic-like odor. Formula P4. Molecular weight 124.08. Relative density 1.82 (20°C). Melting point 44.1°C. Boiling point 280 °C. Steam relative density 4.3. Insoluble in water, soluble in organic solvents such as fat and carbon disulfide. At room temperature, it can be spontaneously ignited in air, easily oxidized to phosphorus trioxide and phosphorus pentoxide, so it is often stored in water. Yellow phosphorus vapor can be oxidized to hypophosphorous acid and phosphoric acid in the presence of moist air. Light green fluorescence is visible in the dark.

The United Nations Orange Book clearly stated that the storage and transportation of yellow phosphorus must meet the following requirements:

1, the packaging mark: flammable solids. Deputy signs: poison products.

2. Packing method: Pack according to Class I dangerous goods.

(a) In iron drums, yellow phosphorus is completely submerged in water.

(b) Glass bottles, plastic bottles or metal containers filled with water (must be refilled in metal containers when using plastic bottles), yellow phosphor must be completely immersed, sealed tightly and then put into a strong wooden box.

(c) The metal container is closed with an inert gas.

3, storage and transportation conditions: best stored in a low-temperature, ventilated special warehouse, warehouse temperature maintained at 28 °C. The tank is equipped with a water tank or water tank to prevent container damage and must be kept underwater or closed with an inert gas. Check three times a day, must ensure that the water should be more than 5cm above the phosphorus block. If it is found that the package is damaged or lacks moisture, it should be treated in time and add enough moisture. Segregate from flammables, flammables, organics, explosives, and oxidants. Keep away from heat and sources of ignition. When shipping, it is usually customary to store it in steel drums, install the drums in deep water tanks, and then fill the tanks with water.

Phosphorus is not only a dangerous product, but also a highly toxic product. About 5 yellow liquid phosphorus burns can cause human poisoning and death.

In view of the danger of yellow phosphorus, the quality requirements for yellow phosphorus packaging drums in China are relatively high, and the national standard GB19358-2003 "Safety Code for Yellow Phosphorus Packaging" also clearly states:

1. The surface of the yellow phosphorus drum should be clean, free from residues, contaminated, rusted or leaked.

2. The yellow phosphorus drum must be compatible with the properties of yellow phosphorus, and its performance should be consistent with the requirements of the United Nations Group I packaging.

3. After the yellow phosphorus drums are filled, they must not be stacked and dumped. After the yellow phosphorus in the drums is completely solidified, they can be sealed. Yellow phosphorus should be protected with water to prevent contact with air during storage and transportation. The reserved space between the water surface of the drum and the inner wall of the top of the yellow phosphorus drum should account for more than 5% of the total volume of the yellow phosphorus drum.

4. The maximum mass of a single piece of yellow phosphorus drum should be less than the maximum permissible mass of the drum that it passes through (the maximum allowable mass is calculated by multiplying the capacity of the yellow phosphorus container by the maximum relative density of yellow phosphorus).

5. Check whether the yellow phosphorus barrel sealer is equipped with a seal ring during shipping and whether the seal ring is in good condition. Use a ruler to check whether the yellow phosphorus surface in the barrel, the covered water, and the reserved space meet the requirements.

6. During the sampling inspection, the bucket should be dumped and the sealer should be completely immersed in the water inside the steel drum to check if the sealer is leaking.

It can be seen that the requirements for the storage and transportation of yellow phosphorus on the packaging steel drums are very strict. Even if the safety accidents due to the quality problems of the yellow phosphorus drums are endless, the reasons for this should be still a safety awareness and management issues.

With the rapid development of modern economy, people's demand for various types of substances has increased, and more and more chemicals have entered the production and circulation fields. This has put forward higher requirements for the packaging, management, storage and transportation of hazardous chemicals. However, the fact is that due to improper management measures, non-standard and unreasonable packaging, and chaos in the transportation market, it has led to the deterioration of the security situation and brought serious economic losses to the country and the people. The lesson was painful and it also gave us an alarm bell.

With the rapid development of modern industry, the classification of dangerous chemicals is becoming more and more detailed. The understanding of their chemical properties and physical properties requires constant experimentation, accumulation, and summary. At the same time, the packaging methods and storage and transportation equipment also require continuous improvement. Rules for the classification, packaging, and packaging of hazardous chemicals packaging in the "Rules for the Transport of Dangerous Goods from Railways", "Rules for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Water Package", "Safety Management Regulations for Hazardous Chemicals" and "Collection of National Standards for Packaging Packages" The transport storage and packaging test methods and inspection rules are clearly stipulated. However, some companies often conceal or overstate their dangerous chemical product names in order to save on packaging costs or transportation costs. Some of the enterprises engaged in the production of hazardous chemical packaging materials and containers have no production license, the packaging experiment and inspection procedures are simple, the quality supervision is not standardized, the production equipment and the technology are backward, and the products are directly used for the packaging of dangerous goods.

At present, all walks of life promote safe production. Security is not an end; security is an important means. How to achieve safe transportation of dangerous goods, the author believes that attention should be paid from the following aspects.

1. Strengthen the work management supervision mechanism

In accordance with relevant regulations, in conjunction with the cleanup and rectification of passenger and cargo transportation orders on the roads, we will concentrate our efforts on the special rectification of road transport of chemical dangerous goods. The competent department in charge of transportation is mainly responsible for the verification of qualifications, transportation vehicles, and technical conditions of facilities and equipment for chemical dangerous goods transport companies; the public security department is mainly responsible for the fire inspection of flammable and explosive chemical dangerous goods storage facilities, and makes good road transportation of dangerous goods. The handling of accidents; the quality supervision and inspection department is responsible for the inspection of pressure vessels and issuing inspection certificates.

Enterprises engaged in the transport of road chemical dangerous goods are strictly prohibited from carrying flammable and explosive chemical dangerous goods without public security agencies issuing permits. At the same time, strengthen the guidance and supervision of the classification of flammable and explosive chemical dangerous goods, division of labor storage, and fire safety management, and avoid mass intensive chemical dangerous goods, radioactive articles, and inflammable and explosive dangerous goods. Land, and there is a special car escort, to do a good job in advance. At the beginning of 2003, some provinces and cities in eastern China launched joint operations of transport management, public security, and security departments, which affected the risk of exceeding the tonnage. In particular, transport vehicles carrying dangerous goods were notified in a joint manner and local unloading measures were effective and worthy of reference.

2. Strengthen the standardized operation of packaging enterprises

In order to do a good job in the legalization and standardization of the production of hazardous chemical packaging and container products, it is in accordance with No. 19 Order of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China on the "Administrative Measures for the Production License of Industrial Products," and Decree No. 3414 of the State Council on the Regulations on the Safety Management of Dangerous Chemicals, etc. In accordance with the relevant regulations, China issued the "Implementation Rules for Production of Dangerous Chemicals and Containers Production Licenses" in March 2003. The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and provincial, district, and city quality and technical supervision bureaus supervise and administer enterprises engaged in the packaging of dangerous chemicals and containers, strengthen the examination of production conditions and product quality inspection reports, and lay a good technical quality. This greatly standardizes the production management of each packaging company, and plays a role in promoting the market for dangerous goods packaging and international integration.

3. Treating and reporting dangerous goods in a realistic and realistic manner

In the transport of dangerous goods such as railways and waterways, if accidents are reported or missed, it will greatly affect the correctness of the measures taken, and it will increase the scope of danger. Listed in the Schedule of Dangerous Regulations may not always be dangerous goods. If there is no specific list in the "Dangerous Regulations" list, it cannot be said that it is not a dangerous cargo. In particular, with the continuous development of science and technology in the world today, new products have emerged like bamboo shoots and many new dangerous goods continue to grow. Therefore, any substance that does have hazardous characteristics, despite being not listed in the "Dangerous Regulations", should be declared as dangerous goods in a realistic and realistic manner at the time of shipment to facilitate transportation safety.

In short, the transport of dangerous goods involves multiple departments, and only the normal management and coordination among various departments can prevent the occurrence of dangerous accidents to the greatest extent and protect the property safety of the country and the people.