Casthouse explodes ...4 dead 1 injured and counting.....

 

We had prayed that this year that the 21 year streak of a large Force 3 explosion would end. Sadly, we are to report that the streak continues. Every year since 2020 (when we started tracking) at least one large explosion has destroyed an aluminium plants. Some years there have been several explosions. With all explosions workers get injured and many are killed. Many times, residents in the surrounding community to the aluminium plant are injured or killed by the explosion. We post incidents not to insult the country, company nor workers. It is our sincere hope that the tragedies can be used to prevent recurrences and to be used to educate workers on the hazard(s). In this case the hazard of molten metal spills.

An aluminum factory in (location omitted) exploded into a mushroom cloud of more than 10 meters. Insider: There was a leakage of aluminum liquid in the casting well 

At around 11:10 a.m. on April 3, an explosion occurred in (company name omitted) causing serious damage to the main structure of a workshop of the company. At present, the specific casualty situation is to be officially notified, and the process and cause of the accident need to be further identified. According to people familiar with the matter, a few minutes before the explosion, the company's casting well had leaked aluminum liquid.

At 11:00 am on the 3rd, Mr. H, a citizen of (nearby town), heard two explosions from 5 kilometers away and felt the vibration of his window. At first he thought it was artificial rainfall, but later he learned that an explosion had occurred in a factory located in the high-tech zone of (neighboring city).

A number of videos obtained by local news reporters showed that at the time of the explosion, a mushroom cloud about 10 meters high rose up in the sky. With the huge impact of the explosion, the components of the factory were also blasted into the air, and a large section of steel structure components were impacted on the road nearly 100 meters away. After the explosion, the first workshop of the factory was in ruins. Some staff members were suspected of being injured and rushed out of the factory building with their heads covered.

In addition, a number of (local) citizens living near the factory posted a video saying that the glass door of their home was shattered, and the debris was scattered all over the place. According to media reports, the (provincial) emergency management department confirmed that at about 11:9 a.m. on April 3, an explosion occurred in the factory area of (aluminium company name omitted). The explosion caused serious damage to the main structure of a workshop of the company. The current casualty situation is still further. Survey.

A person familiar with the matter told (local) News that a few minutes before the explosion, the company's casting well had leaked aluminum liquid. The person also provided relevant evidence after the explosion.

An industry insider Mr. W (surname changed) told (local) News that after the accident, some companies in the industry issued rectification precautions based on the accident, requiring the company to conduct comprehensive rectification in terms of personnel appearance, production process, employee training, staffing and other aspects. . Mr. W said that the temperature of the molten aluminum in the general workshop is about 750℃, and the casting temperature is 730~750℃. If the molten aluminum leaks and flows into the cooling water in large quantities, hydrogen reaction will occur, resulting in excessive steam concentration and steam flash explosion. "This is what we call a blasting well in our industry. Because the furnace is heated by natural gas, it is prone to secondary explosions, and the power will be greater." Mr. W said.

 

According to public information, (company name omitted) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of (company name omitted) (a company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, stock code: omitted). (Aluminium company name) invested 2 billion yuan and covers an area of ​​390,000 square meters. It is a special aluminum alloy profile manufacturing base integrating R&D, production, processing and sales. Focusing on the production and processing of high, precise and sharp industrial aluminum profiles, it has formed a complete industrial aluminum profile industry chain from casting, homogenization, mold design and manufacturing, hot extrusion, precision pumping, heat treatment, surface treatment to deep processing. The company has 10 melting and casting production lines, with an annual melting and casting capacity of 300,000 tons, 20 extrusion press production lines (including 4 reverse extrusion production lines, the tonnage of the extrusion press is from 1,450 tons to 10,000 tons), and the annual extrusion capacity is 200,000 tons. tons, 2 fine drawing lines, vertical solution quenching furnace, CNC machining center CNC machine tools and other production equipment.

On the afternoon of April 4, (local) News called several public telephone numbers of (company name omitted) but none of them got through. Thirty hours after the accident, the relevant departments of local City have not publicly notified the accident.

We pray for the workers’ families, friends, and coworkers on the deaths of these and every worker who dies on the job. We pray that the injured worker(s) recover fully from the injuries.

Subsequent news media reports have listed 4 workers dead and numerous others injured. Because this explosion happened during the day. When the workplace would be filled with more workers. We would assume that the death toll will increase as worker injured in the blast succumb to their injuries. We have not heard of any local residents who were killed, many were injured when the windows shattered and other debris resulting in countless injuries.

 

The destruction that resulted with an explosion is unimaginable. Typically, the explosion is large that it will create a small earthquake. Resulting in the foundation of the building liquifying resulting in broken floors, crane rails being uneven, etc. Commonly after explosions of this magnitude the aluminium company finds it easier to rebuild at another site then to repair the structural damage caused by the explosion.

So what happened? It appears that there was a molten metal leak from a direct chill vertical casting table. The duration of time of the leak and volume are unknown at the moment. In the past, similar tragedies in China occurred when the leak went unnoticed for 10+ minutes. The molten metal either came into contact with moisture and bare concrete, steel, or stainless steel. Or the molten metal leaked onto a substrate coated with a paint that was not approved to prevent molten metal explosions (e.g., Wise Chem E-212-F, E-115) 

We anticipate finding out further information in the future and will update this post as warranted.

Please comment.