The biggest explosion in 1974
Flixborough, is a little town in NorthLincoln Shire, in the region of Yorkshire, England.
This town had the Nypro chemical plant which belonged to the royal Dutch shell Company. This chemical factory produced Caprolactam, an inorganic compound. It's the precursor to nylon-6.
The process associate oxidation of cyclohexane with air in a series of six reactors, in order to produce cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone.
On 27 March 1974, employers was discovered a leakage of cyclohexane; a gas with normal pressure (atmospheric pressure). So, the chief ordered his employees to install a bypass to connect reactor No.4 and No.6 to resume production. He chose money instead of promoting the security of his workers.
But, On Saturday 1 June 1974 at 16:53, there was a problem ! The temporary bypass craked ! The cause was the temperature and pressure in the bypass pipe. About 400 tonnes of cyclohexane escaped from the pipe. It formed a vapour cloud. The cloud met a heat source, probably a furnace near hydrogen production plant, exploded.
The explosion was estimated to be equivalent to 15 tonnes of TNT. It destroyed the plant,
caused a fire in the plant which burned during thirteen days, and damaged about 1821 houses and 167 shops/factories. It also, injured 53 workers and killed twenty eight men. Fortunately, the explosion happened on a weekday otherwise more than 500 workers have been killed.
Despite protests of people who live in the community of Flixborough, a new plant had been build as a memorial listing all persons died that day.
Little reportage with rections of people and a view on the consequences.