US Chemical Safety Board Shares Safety Video on 2020 BioLab FireUS Chemical Safety Board Shares Safety Video on 2020 BioLab Fire

The United States Chemical Safety Board has released a safety video on its investigation into the August 2020 fire and toxic gas release at the Biolab Lake Charles chemical facility in Westlake, LA, that occurred when Hurricane Laura damaged the building.

The BioLab Westlake facility manufactures and supplies water treatment products for pools and spas, including a formulation comprised primarily of the chemical trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA). The chemical is used in large bodies of water such as swimming pools and dissolves and breaks down. However when a TCCA-based formulation comes in contact with a small amount of water and does not dissolve, a chemical reaction can occur, generating heat and causing the material to decompose and produce toxic chlorine gas. Which is what happened on this day.

The CSB’s investigation found that as Category 4 Hurricane Laura approached, Bio-Lab took steps to remove chemical products from the facility via trucks. Because some trucks never arrived; however, over 1 million pounds of the TCCA-based formulation, as well as other chemicals, were left on-site ahead of the storm. Extreme wind from Hurricane Laura severely damaged buildings at the facility, allowing rainwater to seep into the damaged buildings and come in contact with the products stored inside.

The stored chemicals reacted and decomposed, and a fire ignited. A large plume of hazardous gases, including toxic chlorine, traveled from the facility over the neighboring community.  A portion of nearby Interstate 10 was closed for over 28 hours, and local officials issued a shelter-in-place order for the surrounding community due to the release of the hazardous gases.

As in the CSB’s final report, the safety video covers the five key safety issues that contributed to the incident:

The video also shares safety recommendations made by the CSB to the state of Louisiana, the EPA, and OSHA.