Phillips Disaster

“ Shortly after 1:00 p.m. on October 23, 1989, an explosion and

fire ripped through The Phillips 66 Company, Houston Chemical
Complex in Pasadena, Texas. 23 workers were killed and more
than 130 injured.
Two production plants within the Phillips complex was
completely destroyed, causing nearly $ 750 million worth of
damage.

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 Introduction

The Phillips Complex began producing high-density

polyethylene in 1956.

The importance of this petrochemical industry can be

attributed to the production of 20% of the polyethylene of the
United States.

The Phillips Complex is located in Pasadena, Texas.

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Types of polyethylene

HDPE
The classification of polyethylenes
is based on their density.

Ethylene
The Phillips complex produced
high-density polyethylene.

MDPE LLDPE

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Process overview

Production process: The reaction of ethylene gas

dissolved in isobutane in long tubes.

This combination of process gases at elevated pressure

💣 and temperature is extremely flammable.

The accident resulted from the escape of process gas

during regular maintenance operations on one
polyethylene reactor.
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DEMCO- valve
The DEMCO valve is kept open during production so
that the polyethylene particles can settle into the leg.

If the DEMCO valve were to open during a cleaning-

out operation, there would be nothing to prevent the
escape of the gas to the atmosphere.

OSHA 's investigation concludes that on October 23

more than 85,000 pounds of highly flammable gas
were suddenly released through an open DEMCOs
valve.

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OSHA

determine the cause of the accident

The objectives of OSHA's

investigate possible violations of the OSH Act
response to the accident

Make recommendations as to how such accidents can be

prevented in the future

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 Big faults

No effective permit-to-work system for line operating, hot work or vehicle

entry to areas that might contain hazardous vapours.

The valve on the settling leg was not designed to fail safe (closed).

Control rooms sited too near hazardous operations.

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My suggestions

▰Creating a water supply network for firefighters

▰Installation of flammable gas detection sensors

▰Serious encounters with managers and contractors and ...

▰Special attention to the opinions of safety organizations

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Conclusion

weakness in
the
Valve safety Human
management
weakness mistake
of safety
systems

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PICTURES

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Reference

[1] www.osha.gov
[2] www.healthandsafetyatwork.com
[3] www.chemeng.ir
[4] www.polyethylene.ir

[5] U.S. Fire Administration/Technical Report Series

Phillips Petroleum Chemical Plant Explosion and Fire
Pasadena, Texas
USFA-TR-035/October 1989
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