PEMEX LPG Terminal

explosion and fire,

Mexico City, Mexico, 1984
 How did it happen?
19 November 1984
Three refineries supplied the facility with LPG on a daily basis. Two large spheres and 48 cylindrical vessels
were filled to 90% and 4 smaller spheres to 50% full.

19 November 1984, at 5.30 A drop in pressure was noticed in the control room and also at a pipeline
pumping station. An 8-inch pipe between a sphere and a series of cylinders had ruptured. Unfortunately
the operators could not identify the cause of the pressure drop.
The release of LPG continued, and It ignited, causing violent ground shock. The Ignition source at the Ground
flare at the bottling plant
A number of ground fires occurred and there were 9 explosions (The second and seventh were the most severe)
TimeLine the Incident
19 November 1984
5.30
At 5.30 An 8-inch pipe between a sphere and a series of cylinders had
ruptured
5.40
At 5.40 The release of LPG continued, and It ignited, causing violent
5.45 combustion.
first explosion (BLEVE) at 5.45

5.46
Second BLEVE (one of the most violent) at 5.46
6.00
Police alert and civilian traffic stop
7.01
Last explosion on seismograph (BLEVE)
7.30
several weak explosions happen

11.00
Last explosion
8.00 – 18.00
rescue was carried out
23.00
Flames extinguished
 Why did it happen?
So its happen because a pressure drop and an 8-inch pipe between a
sphere and a series of cylinders had ruptured. And failure in technical
action was also the causes in this incident. And make this incident, became a
major disaster. The failure in technical action have several aspect, like:

1 Plant Layout
inadequate positioning of the
4 Emergency Response / Spill Control
tanks (Domino effect).
Lack of effective planning and safety
legislation, Lack of alarm systems and
2 Hazard identification
evacuation routes, Lack of awareness
• No formal hazard identification of potential death toll if a BLEVE had
process was carried out. occurred.
• Lack of awareness of potential
death toll if a BLEVE occurred.

5. Mechanical integrity
3 Protective systems  Inadequate maintenance and
the water spray system was inspection program.
inadequate and disabled, Lack of  Pressure gauges were inaccurate and
gas detector system, Emergency in bad shape.
isolation was initiated too late.
The consequences
Over 500 people were killed, 7,000 injured,
200,000 people were evacuated, and many
buildings around the factory were damaged
by the explosion.
The recommendations,
we should do!
Understand the magnitude of a potential incident in your plant, and
what safety systems are in place to prevent and mitigate the event.

Report all failures of safety systems and equipment and ask your
management to have them repaired.

Check that all pressure relief devices are inspected and maintained
as required by your plant’s policy.

Confer with your safety and production engineers to determine how

to manage risk, including the possibility of shutting down, if critical
safety equipment is not working properly.

Remember that poor housekeeping in a plant is often a symptom of a

poor safety culture. Take care of your plant and all of its equipment,
especially safety equipment.

THANKYOUU
-Kania Azzahra 02211840000022