Chemical Disasters Heather MelendezProfessor Beam

Chem 50H

Global and Individual Perspectives

• Most incidents go unreported unless serious damage to people of the environment is involved

• We live in a society dependent on chemical reactions to manufacture everything from the food we eat to the cleaning products we use

• Many chemical disasters have been devastating to the world that require accountability not cover ups

• Even in our own communities, chemical incidents occur daily

Global: Bhopal Disaster

• Around 1:00 am on Monday December 3, 1984

• In the City of Bhopal in Central India

• A highly toxic cloud of Methyl Isocyanate was released from

the chimney stacks of the Union Carbide Pesticide Plant

• 2,500 people died immediately

• Over 200,000 people were injured and people are still

affected to this day with deformities and cancer

Causes

• A storage tank containing Methyl Isocyanate

(MIC), which is used to make the insecticide

Carbaryl was exposed to water that leaked into

the storage tank containing 40 cubic meters of

MIC

• When H2O and MIC mixed an exothermic

chemical reaction occurred causing a safety valve

to burst due to the pressure and released 20-30

tons of MIC into the atmosphere within 1 hour

Products and Reactions• Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3)

which reacts with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)

• Night of Disaster• 2CH3NCO + H2O ---> C3H8N2O + CO2 + heat• Methyl isocyanate + water yields 1,3-dimethylurea + carbon dioxide and heat

• CH3NCO + C3H8N2O ---> C5H11N3O2 + heat

Reasons and Solutions• Poorly designed safety system and working

equipment • To save money a portion of the safety equipment

had not been operational in 4 months• The hazardous manufacturing plant was built near

a highly populated city

• Green Chemistry Principles need to be implemented

• Hazardous chemicals like MIC need to be stored in smaller containers

• Reduce the production of toxic chemicals and use the chemicals during the course of the reaction instead of storing large amounts

• Finding alternatives to toxic chemicals to use for insecticides

National: IHOP incident

• At 9:15 am on February 17, 2012

• At an IHOP restaurant in South

Charleston, West Virginia

• A toxic cloud of Chloramine gas spread

throughout the restaurant

• 50 people had respiratory injuries

• 9 people’s injuries were severe enough

to be hospitalized

Causes • A kitchen employee mixed chlorine bleach and a delimer, which

contained ammonia as its main ingredient, to clean a dishwashing

machine

• The mixture of the two chemicals created a chemical reaction producing

the poisonous Chloramine NH2Cl vapor that spread through the

restaurant

Products and Reactions• The NaOCl Sodium Hypochlorite bleach decomposed to form HOCl

Hypochlorous acid, which reacts ammonia to form toxic Chloramine

fumes

• NaOCl → NaOH + HOCL

• HOCl → HCl +O

• Then the Ammonia NH3 and Chlorine gas Cl2 react to form

Chloramine NH2CL , which is released as a vapor

• NaOCL + 2HCl → Cl2 + NaCl + H2O

• 2NH3 + Cl2 → 2NH2Cl

Consequences• U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the IHOP

restaurant for 5 alleged serious safety and health violations

• Failure to provide training, safety assessments, protective eye wear,

eyewash facilities, and display of MSDS information for chemical in the

workplace

• The key to avoiding such incidents is education and the use of proper safety

equipment, such as gloves and protective eyewear, or this can happen

Solutions • Using environmentally friendly green chemical cleaners

• Reading chemical warning labels thoroughly

• Wearing protective gloves and glasses

Local: UCLA Laboratory Fire• One of the most infamous chemical accidents in

a college laboratory resulting in death occurred

on December 29, 2008

• Research assistant, Sheri Sangji, worked in the

UCLA chemistry laboratory testing a reaction she

had previously tested in the attempt to produce

more product.

• She had detailed lab notes for the procedure

• However fatal mistakes were made costing her

life

Products and Reactions

• Sangji planned to generate vinyllithium by reacting vinyl bromide with

two equivalents of tert-butyllithium, t-BuLi, as the first step of a larger

synthesis.

• t-BuLi is a pyrophoric chemical, which ignites spontaneously in the

presence of oxygen

• t-BuLi + O2 → t-BuOOLi

t-BuLi + H2O → t-BuH + LiOH

Causes• As Sangji was drawing up approximately 50 mL

of t-BuLi in a 60 mL plastic syringe, the plunger

came out of the barrel and the t-BuLi was

exposed to the air igniting into flames

• Also in the fume hood was an open flask of

hexane, which she knocked over when the t-

BuLi reacted and it ignited the solvent catching

her synthetic sweater on fire

• Instead of using the safety shower, another

researcher tried to help by wrapping a lab coat

around her to put the fire out, but it caught on

fire

Solutions • Follow proper procedure including

wearing proper protective wear and check that all equipment is functioning properly

• Make sure all chemicals from previous work is cleaned up and stored properly

• Be thoroughly educated as to what dangerous reactions can occur if the wrong chemicals are combined

• When an emergency in the lab happens do not panic, follow emergency protocol by using the safety showers and eye wash stations

Green Chemistry

• The lesson that can be learned from these chemical

disasters are:

• Use proper protective equipment

• Have regulations being followed and safety

equipment in proper working order

• Being educated about the chemicals being used, we

can avoid injuries and death

• Going green in chemistry and finding new alternatives

to antiquated chemical products is by far the

healthiest change that can be made for people and

the environment

Works Cited

Baxter, Ann, Michael Hyland, Sarah Sager, and Brooks Jarosz. "UPDATE: OSHA Cites South Charleston IHOP for Chlorine

Incident." WSAZ RSS. Gray Digital Media, 2 May 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Gregory, Kathryn. "Chemical Cloud at IHOP; 9 Hospitalized ." Chemical Cloud at IHOP; 9 Hospitalized - News - The

Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -. Wvgazette.com, 17 Feb. 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Helmenstine, Ph.D., Anne M. "Why You Shouldn't Mix Bleach and Ammonia - Bleach and Ammonia Chemical Reactions."

About.com Chemistry. About.com/chemistry, 20 Aug. 2010. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Distinguished Member, Expert. "Chemical Forum - Chemistry Help :: View Topic - Bhopal - Balanced Equation." Chemical

Forum - Chemistry Help :: View Topic - Bhopal - Balanced Equation. Chemicalforum.webqc.org, 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 04

Nov. 2013.

Kemsley, Jyllian N. "Learning From UCLA." CEN RSS. American Chemical Society, 3 Aug. 2009. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

"Tert-Butyllithium." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Vijayan, V. K. (2010). Methyl isocyanate (MIC) exposure and its consequences on human health at Bhopal. International

Journal Of Environmental Studies, 67(5), 637-653.