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At least 5 killed, 12 injured in chemical plant blast in Mie

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An explosion at a chemical plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, that had previously attracted the attention of safety inspectors killed at least five people and injured a dozen more Thursday.

The blast happened in the early afternoon at the plant, when maintenance crews were working on a heat exchanger used in the production of silicon products, a plant spokesman told AFP.

Initial reports put the death toll at two, but they were quickly revised upwards.

"Five people are dead. 12 people have been injured, of whom nine sustained only minor injuries," said a spokeswoman for the Mie prefectural police.

A separate police spokesman told AFP the plant, run by Mitsubishi Materials, makes parts for solar panels and automobiles, using polymers made from silicon, hydrogen and chlorine.

"An explosion occurred but there is no fire. We received an emergency call at 2:09 p.m. and at 2:21 p.m. the incident appeared to have calmed down," he said.

Television footage showed around a dozen firefighters setting out stretchers for victims at the site, where a pipe appeared to have fallen to the ground and other machinery parts were scattered nearby.

"I heard a boom and saw white smoke rising from the plant," a 56-year-old worker at a nearby plant was quoted by the Sankei Shimbun as saying. "I don't remember there ever being such a serious accident in Yokkaichi before."

A separate police spokeswoman said detailed inspections to determine the cause of the accident had not yet begun because of the danger of secondary explosions, although she added that there was no known risk of a toxic chemical leak.

Hiroki Morofuji, an official at the plant, said the blast had involved maintenance workers at the premises, which are sited in a heavily industrialised region.

Mitsubishi Materials, headquartered in Tokyo, makes a range of products including auto parts, silicon wafers for memory chips used in consumer electronics, and cement for road and bridge construction.

"Some 170 people were working at the plant," a Tokyo-based spokesman said. "Operation at the plant has been suspended. We still don't know the cause of the explosion."

He confirmed a report by Dow Jones Newswires that the Yokkaichi factory was ordered by local officials to shut down for several months in 2010 after an on-site inspection discovered it was generating high-pressure gas without necessary permits.

The company, which reported sales of about $12.2 billion in its latest fiscal year, has more than 22,000 employees and operations across the globe including in the United States, Brazil, Germany and India, according to its website.

© (c) 2014 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

8 Comments
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Horrible. Hope Mitsubishi don't make weapons for peace at that particular place. My thought go out for the unlucky ones.

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Thanks for that link zichi.

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Thanks from me too Zichi

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Compliance issues?

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From watching the video supplied by zichi it is a wonder that more people were not killed by that explosion.

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Sad to see workers die on the job RIP. Demolition is risky business but that should not have happened.

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After reading this article and knowing what I know!!! I am willing to bet anyone here that the cause of this explosion was due Silicon Gas Silane, a gas made up of silicon and hydrogen. The biggest indicator is this lethal mixture of chemicals that explodes on contact with air that's why the witness saw no fire.

"The blast happened in the early afternoon at the plant, when maintenance crews were working on a heat exchanger used in the production of silicon products, a plant spokesman told AFP".

I assume from what I am reading here what is manufactured the gas is essential for production of their products despite its dangers, silane remains the best way to deliver silicon molecules to a surface, because at high temperatures (above 400 degrees Celsius) it breaks into silicon and hydrogen. From the article it said that the blast happened in the early afternoon at the plant, when maintenance crews were working on a heat exchanger used in the production of silicon products. Yes the heat exchanger is used to burn off the hydrogen, like a gas flare. Being an expert my best suggestion for the mixtures stability would be replacing some of the hydrogen in the silane with other molecules, such as carbon, to make the resulting gas less explosive.

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