CSB Releases Video on Fatal Chemical Release at Wacker Polysilicon
The November 2020 fatal HCI release killed one worker and injured three others.
This video by the US Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board has published a safety video on the investigation into the fatal release of hydrogen chloride at the Wacker Polysilicon North America facility in Charleston, TN.
On November 13, 2020, a graphite heat exchanger cracked during maintenance activities, releasing gaseous hydrogen chloride (HCl) at the Wacker Polysilicon plant.
CSB issued its final report in June 2023 on the incident, where a worker was fatally injured.
The CSB found that at the time of the incident in November 2020, there were multiple contract workers present on the fifth floor of an equipment access platform at the facility. They were conducting different work and wearing different levels of personal protective equipment (PPE), and they were from two different contractors.
One of the workers applied excessive torque to flange bolts on a heat exchanger outlet pipe containing HCl, causing the pipe to crack and releasing the hazardous chemical in the workers’ vicinity.
As a white cloud of HCl expanded, the workers on the platform weren’t able to see their surroundings or access the staircase, the only way to exit the platform. Three of the workers, who weren’t wearing full-body chemical-resistant suits, began climbing down the side of the structure to escape the HCl cloud. All three workers fell approximately 70 feet during their attempt to escape. One of the workers died from the fall, and the other two sustained serious injuries.
The CSB identifies key safety lessons in this video, where you will see and hear what happened during that fateful day.
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