Incident Report Subject: Explosions rip through Tosoh Corp.'s Chemical Plant in Western Japan, 1 body found Date of Email report: Sat 19/11/2011 Report Detail:
The fire sparked by the blasts was put out at about 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 14, about 15 hours after the explosions. The body of a man believed to be Masanori Nakamura, 52, an official of the plant, was later found. Toxic hydrochloric gas flowed out from the plant, prompting the plant operator to urge local residents in the cities of Shunan and Kudamatsu to close windows and stay indoors. The plant operator lifted the requests at 6:10 a.m. on Nov. 14. Police are investigating the case with views to possible manslaughter. According to the operator, the plant was shut down after problems were detected on the morning of Nov. 13. Around 6 a.m. on that day, about 10 workers including Nakamura were engaged in operations to transfer chemicals such as vinyl chloride monomer into a storage tank. The pressure inside the plant dropped for an unspecified reason, and vinyl chloride monomer flowed outside and apparently caught fire before exploding. Additional Documentation: |
