Processing the safety lessons of Flixborough

Written by John Reynolds

December 18th, 2017

Health and Safety Articles

Lessons from the Flixborough disaster:

1st June 1974: A large vapour cloud explosion hit the Flixborough Works of Nypro. The trigger? A release of the volatile and highly flammable liquid, cyclohexane. The release followed the failure of a temporary modification to the reactor process which had not been assessed or pressure tested.

The damage:

The blast ripped through the plant
28 workers killed, 18 inside the control room
36 people injured
Major damage spread offsite to over 2,000 properties, injuring 50+ people

Lessons to learn:

Better control is always required with plant modifications
Improved protection for control rooms
Wider communication of major accident hazards
Training and competency improvements

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Written by John Reynolds

December 18th, 2017

Health and Safety Articles