Date: June 8, 2018
Location: Lostock Gralam, Northwich (United Kingdom)
Address: Griffiths Rd, CW9 7NU
Type: Potential Dust Fire
Fuel: Quicklime
Industry: Chemical Manufacture
Equipment: Conveyor Belt
Company: Tata Chemicals Europe
Previous Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unknown
Company Description:
According to the company website, Tata Chemicals Europe (TCE) is one of Europe’s leading producers of sodium carbonate, salt, sodium bicarbonate and other products. They produce many grades of sodium bicarbonate with applications ranging from pharmaceuticals and food and animal feed to detergents and personal care products. They also produce pure white salt (sodium chloride) for food, water-softening, and de-icing and industrial uses. They are the UK’s only manufacturer of soda ash and sodium bicarbonate. Their soda ash is used in the manufacture of glass, detergents and chemicals and in several other industry applications.
The business has a long history going back nearly 150 years. The original company, Brunner Mond, was formed by John Brunner and Ludwig Mond in 1873. In 1926 it became part of British chemical giant, ICI. It was sold to Tata Chemicals in 2006 and acquired Cheshire-based brine supplier British Salt in 2011. The company was rebranded Tata Chemicals Europe in the same year.
TCE’s head office is also located in Northwich, about 4 miles from the Lostock site.
Description of Soda Ash Conveyor Fire:
On June 14, 2018 Powder & Bulk Solids reported that firefighters from 10 municipalities had responded to a fire at a soda ash chemical plant in Northwich, UK. Crews received reports of the fire at about 9:30 am on June 8. A report by the Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service said that firefighters arrived to find flames in a 50m x 20m conveyor belt in a kiln plant at the site.
The fire was extinguished by 2 pm and there were no leaks of hazardous substances. Emergency services stayed on site until 5:30 pm to ensure safety. All employees were evacuated safely and no injuries were reported. Local residents were told to keep their doors and windows shut as a precaution due to the possible presence of large quantities of dust.
Industrial Minerals reported that the fire broke out on a rubberized conveyor belt that transports burnt limestone from kilns to dissolvers. Once burnt (heated to about 900 degrees Celsius), limestone converts to calcium oxide, or quicklime. The resulting product, which can exit the kiln at more than 100 degrees Celsius, is believed to have built up on the belt, which may have became stuck, causing the fire. The fire was restricted to the conveyor belt and did not spread to other parts of the factory.
The fire interrupted production at the site for three days with the plant coming back online on June 11, 2018. The general manager of soda ash at Tata Chemicals Europe was reported as saying: “Only a couple thousand tonnes of production was missed. Despite the lack of production, customers were supplied as normal from stock and there was no disruption to supply.”
In 2013 the website Health and Safety at Work reported that Tata Chemicals Europe had been ordered to pay significant penalties following health and safety-related incidents. In one of these an employee was badly burned when his foot went through a missing part of a grating. In another, employees were exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide gas and in a third, part of the gantry a worker was walking along gave way due to corrosion. When an HSE inspector visited the factory, she discovered the company had not reported that another part of the grating, on the same walkway, had collapsed two days earlier. In 2016 the Northwich Guardian reported that the company had ultimately been fined almost £350,000 for these incidents and another in which a Capper Industrial Contractors employee suffered chemical burns after being engulfed in caustic hot lime dust at the Lostock plant while operating an open-fronted vehicle.
The Northwich Guardian reported that the managing director of Tata Chemicals Europe had said, in a statement: “These incidents came during a difficult period for the company, which is now behind us. Our health and safety performance has improved beyond recognition since these incidents as a result of a wide-ranging programme of initiatives.”
Sources:
Powder & Bulk Solids
Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service
Industrial Minerals
Wikipedia (Lime Cycle)
Health & Safety at Work
Health and Safety Executive
Northwich Guardian
Wikipedia (Tata Chemicals)
Wikipedia (John Brunner)
Wikipedia (Ludwig Mond)
Wikipedia (ICI)
Wikipedia (British Salt)
