Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Avda. Tibidabo, 39-43, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
Stahl Holdings BV, Waalwijk, the Netherlands.
J Hazard Mater. 2020 Apr 5;387:121674. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121674. Epub 2019 Nov 12.
Fertilisers containing ammonium nitrate have caused several accidents over the years, including toxic clouds, fires and explosions. For this reason, this work examines the accident that occurred in Escombreras valley (Cartagena, Spain) related to the decomposition of NPK 15-15-15 fertiliser, composed basically of monoammonium phosphate, ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride. The fertiliser was stored in a silo and its decomposition produced a toxic cloud formed of nitrogen oxides. Calculations have been made to determine the amount of heat released in the accident and the temperature gradient in the stored pile. The causes of the accident are not clear but could be related to the presence of decomposing organic matter. Fault tree analysis has revealed several weak points in the storage conditions. The dispersion of the gases produced has been simulated to evaluate the distance that dangerous concentrations of gases would reach. Almost 4000 people suffered the consequences of the accident, although most of them experienced only minor irritations and episodes of confinement due to their proximity to the site. To conclude, a series of lessons have been extracted that can help avoid similar accidents in the future.
多年来，含有硝酸铵的肥料已经导致了多起事故，包括有毒云团、火灾和爆炸。出于这个原因，这项工作研究了发生在西班牙卡塔赫纳埃斯孔布雷拉斯谷（Escombreras valley）的与 NPK 15-15-15 肥料分解有关的事故，该肥料主要由磷酸一铵、硝酸铵和氯化钾组成。肥料储存在筒仓中，其分解产生了由氮氧化物组成的有毒云团。进行了计算以确定事故中释放的热量和储存堆中的温度梯度。事故的原因尚不清楚，但可能与分解有机物的存在有关。故障树分析揭示了储存条件中的几个弱点。已经对产生的气体的扩散进行了模拟，以评估危险浓度气体的到达距离。近 4000 人遭受了事故的后果，尽管他们中的大多数人由于靠近现场，只经历了轻微的刺激和禁闭事件。最后，总结了一系列可以帮助避免未来类似事故的经验教训。
