The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed $5.085 million in penalties against Arcadian Corp., Lake Charles, La., for alleged safety and health violations.
Arcadian had not responded to OSHA's allegations at Oil & Gas Journal presstime last week.
OSHA said the proposed penalties resulted from its lengthy investigation of a July 28, 1992, urea reactor explosion at the company's Lake Charles plant, which injured seven persons.
OSHA said the accident occurred after the urea reactor ruptured due to an improper weld on a bracket supporting a tray inside the unit. It said the containment vessel was corroded by carbamate that leaked through a hole resulting from the improper weld.
The leak went undetected because weep holes in the vessel were not adequately checked to detect ammonia and carbon dioxide coming out ahead of the carbamate. The carbamate hardened as it progressed outward through the holes, which were eventually clogged.
OSHA said intense pressure resulted in an explosion that scattered debris and highly corrosive product over a wide area, including a nearby interstate highway, and released a large volume of ammonia gas.
The agency maintained the accident was preventable because Arcadian continued to operate the vessel after the leak was detected.
OSHA cited Arcadian for 87 violations-one for each employee exposed to the hazardous vessel-for failure to maintain a safe workplace, with proposed penalties of $50,000/violation or a total of $4.35 million.
It charged Arcadian with six other alleged willful violations of the standards requiring that exits be free of obstruction and of standards governing emergency response. Those proposed fines total $300,000.
And OSHA issued citations for 41 alleged serious violations, nine repeat violations, and one violation classified as other than serious. Those totaled $435,000.
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