The Experts below are selected from a list of 33 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

Sam M Mannan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • case study and lessons learned from the Ammonium Nitrate Explosion at the west fertilizer facility
    Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2016
    Co-Authors: Delphine M Laboureur, Zhe Han, Brian Z Harding, Alba Pineda, William Pittman, Camilo Rosas, Jiaojun Jiang, Sam M Mannan
    Abstract:

    In West, Texas on April 17, 2013, a chemical storage and distribution facility caught fire followed by the Explosion of around 30 tons of Ammonium Nitrate while the emergency responders were trying to extinguish the fire, leading to 15 fatalities and numerous buildings, businesses and homes destroyed or damaged. This incident resulted in devastating consequences for the community around the facility, and shed light on a need to improve the safety management of local small businesses similar to the West facility. As no official report on the findings of the incident has been released yet, this article first investigates the root causes of the incident, and presents a simplified consequence analysis. The article reviews the regulations applicable to this type of facility and recommended emergency response procedures to identify gaps between what happened in West and the current regulations, and discusses how the current regulations could be modified to prevent or minimize future losses. Finally, the federal response that followed the incident until the publication of this paper is summarized.

Delphine M Laboureur - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • case study and lessons learned from the Ammonium Nitrate Explosion at the west fertilizer facility
    Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2016
    Co-Authors: Delphine M Laboureur, Zhe Han, Brian Z Harding, Alba Pineda, William Pittman, Camilo Rosas, Jiaojun Jiang, Sam M Mannan
    Abstract:

    In West, Texas on April 17, 2013, a chemical storage and distribution facility caught fire followed by the Explosion of around 30 tons of Ammonium Nitrate while the emergency responders were trying to extinguish the fire, leading to 15 fatalities and numerous buildings, businesses and homes destroyed or damaged. This incident resulted in devastating consequences for the community around the facility, and shed light on a need to improve the safety management of local small businesses similar to the West facility. As no official report on the findings of the incident has been released yet, this article first investigates the root causes of the incident, and presents a simplified consequence analysis. The article reviews the regulations applicable to this type of facility and recommended emergency response procedures to identify gaps between what happened in West and the current regulations, and discusses how the current regulations could be modified to prevent or minimize future losses. Finally, the federal response that followed the incident until the publication of this paper is summarized.

Vytenis Babrauskas - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • the Ammonium Nitrate Explosion at west texas a disaster that could have been avoided
    Fire and Materials, 2018
    Co-Authors: Vytenis Babrauskas
    Abstract:

    On April 17, 2013, an Explosion of Ammonium Nitrate (AN) fertilizer stored at the West Fertilizer Company resulted in 15 deaths, 260 injuries, and the destruction of a sizable portion of the town. AN fertilizer is classified as an oxidizer, not as an explosive; nonetheless, it is a chemical which can detonate, and there is a century's worth of history of such Explosions, some of them in manufacturing operations, but many in storage or transport. A review of incidents showed that 100% of AN fertilizer Explosions in storage or transport had a single cause—an uncontrolled fire. Thus, AN fertilizer Explosions in storage are preventable accidents, because technology to preclude uncontrollable fires also has been available for a century. In the case of transport accidents, uncontrolled fires may not be avoidable. However, technologies exist that can make AN less likely to explode, and to show greatly reduced Explosion intensity, if driven to Explosion. None of these safety measures were in place for this disaster. Details of necessary fire safety measures and the effectiveness and utility of existing regulations for AN are examined. This is important because most AN storage facilities in the United States are similarly inadequate in their fire safety.

  • the west texas Ammonium Nitrate Explosion a failure of regulation
    Journal of Fire Sciences, 2017
    Co-Authors: Vytenis Babrauskas
    Abstract:

    On 17 April 2013, the West Fertilizer Company’s Ammonium Nitrate storage building exploded, killing 15 persons and injuring over 200. Numerous Federal and State agencies regulated the facility. But...

Zhe Han - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • case study and lessons learned from the Ammonium Nitrate Explosion at the west fertilizer facility
    Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2016
    Co-Authors: Delphine M Laboureur, Zhe Han, Brian Z Harding, Alba Pineda, William Pittman, Camilo Rosas, Jiaojun Jiang, Sam M Mannan
    Abstract:

    In West, Texas on April 17, 2013, a chemical storage and distribution facility caught fire followed by the Explosion of around 30 tons of Ammonium Nitrate while the emergency responders were trying to extinguish the fire, leading to 15 fatalities and numerous buildings, businesses and homes destroyed or damaged. This incident resulted in devastating consequences for the community around the facility, and shed light on a need to improve the safety management of local small businesses similar to the West facility. As no official report on the findings of the incident has been released yet, this article first investigates the root causes of the incident, and presents a simplified consequence analysis. The article reviews the regulations applicable to this type of facility and recommended emergency response procedures to identify gaps between what happened in West and the current regulations, and discusses how the current regulations could be modified to prevent or minimize future losses. Finally, the federal response that followed the incident until the publication of this paper is summarized.

Brian Z Harding - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • case study and lessons learned from the Ammonium Nitrate Explosion at the west fertilizer facility
    Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2016
    Co-Authors: Delphine M Laboureur, Zhe Han, Brian Z Harding, Alba Pineda, William Pittman, Camilo Rosas, Jiaojun Jiang, Sam M Mannan
    Abstract:

    In West, Texas on April 17, 2013, a chemical storage and distribution facility caught fire followed by the Explosion of around 30 tons of Ammonium Nitrate while the emergency responders were trying to extinguish the fire, leading to 15 fatalities and numerous buildings, businesses and homes destroyed or damaged. This incident resulted in devastating consequences for the community around the facility, and shed light on a need to improve the safety management of local small businesses similar to the West facility. As no official report on the findings of the incident has been released yet, this article first investigates the root causes of the incident, and presents a simplified consequence analysis. The article reviews the regulations applicable to this type of facility and recommended emergency response procedures to identify gaps between what happened in West and the current regulations, and discusses how the current regulations could be modified to prevent or minimize future losses. Finally, the federal response that followed the incident until the publication of this paper is summarized.