OREANDA-NEWS. June 02, 2011. Braskem announces that the assessment of the events that took place on May 21 and 23 at its Chlor-Alkali plant in Maceio, Alagoas, which was conducted by a commission formed by the company's technicians, concluded that both events resulted from a combination of factors associated with the production process. The design characteristics and maintenance of the industrial unit were excluded as potential causes, reported the press-centre of Braskem.

In the first accident, the lower portion of a piece of equipment known as the pre-chiller failed, which caused the leakage of chlorine.

In the second accident, with the plant out of operation and the chlorine removed from the interior, the lower fitting of another item of equipment called the inter-chiller failed, which dispersed metal fragments. This event did not involve any leakage of chlorine.

Both events were due to an atypical increase in the concentration of trichloramine (TCA), a subproduct generated by the process. TCA is produced by the reaction of ammonia contained in the brine with the chlorine, and is monitored and eliminated continuously during the production process.

The first event occurred due to the decomposition of TCA in an unpredictable amount, simultaneously with two other factors: the temperature and operating conditions with the partial degradation of this substance.  In the second event, the failure of the lower fitting was due to the existence of TCA in this piece of equipment. The workers injured were not interfering with the equipment, but were near the site assembling a scaffold to be used for inspection, seeking to identify the causes of the first event.

Braskem’s Chlor-Alkali plant in Maceio has been in operation for 34 years and had not recorded any workplace accidents with leave for 950 days. Over the last three years, the plant has received over BRL 300 million in investments in maintenance and health, safety and environment (HSE).

The measures required to eliminate the causes of the events that occurred, such as introducing additional protection measures and increasing the control of processes, are already being adopted and presented to the applicable authorities. Production will be resumed only after all additional protection measures are put into practice and meticulous risk analyses are concluded.