[Music] Narrator: NDK Crystal operated a
synthetic quartz crystal manufacturing facility in an industrial area adjacent to
Interstate 90 in Belvidere, Illinois. NDK produces large crystals used for a variety of products,
particularly electronic devices. The facility housed eight massive
cylindrical pressure vessels with eight-inch thick steel walls, standing 50-feet tall. Inside the vessels, raw mined quartz or silica
was mixed with a corrosive sodium hydroxide solution at extremely high pressures and temperatures. The vessels were kept sealed for up to 150 days, to
allow the growth of large single crystals of quartz. The silica and sodium hydroxide
react with iron in the walls of the steel vessel, forming a layer of sodium iron silicate or acmite. The company believed this acmite coating
would protect the vessels from the corrosive effects of the chemicals inside. Over the years, NDK was warned that corrosion might
be compromising the walls of the pressure vessels, yet the company continued to operate these vessels
without performing recommended inspections. On December 7, 2009, pressure vessel Number 2
was 120 days into a routine 150-day crystal growing cycle, when suddenly at about 2:30 p.m. ...
[Sound of explosion] it violently ruptured. Large pieces of structural steel
were thrown from the building. One piece was blown 650 feet
toward a gas station on the Illinois tollway. Tragically, the building fragment struck and
killed a driver who was walking back to his truck. A large piece of the pressure vessel tore
through an exterior wall of the NDK facility, skipped across a neighboring parking lot and
struck the wall of adjacent automotive supply company, where nearly 70 people were working. One was injured. To determine the cause of the failure, the
CSB reviewed process data from vessel Number 2 and worked with the National
Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST, to examine results from metallurgical testing. The investigation concluded that the failure
most likely resulted from stress corrosion cracking on the inside walls of the vessel, which had gone uninspected and undetected for years. In fact, the CSB learned that NDK never actually
tested or verified the effectiveness of the acmite coating to prevent the corrosion in the vessels. In addition, the CSB found the design of the NDK vessels made them inherently susceptible
to stress corrosion cracking. A combination of vessel materials,
caustic sodium hydroxide solution and high temperatures and pressures
created a corrosive environment inside the vessels. Also, the vessels did not meet requirements of the
widely recognized ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. The thickness of the vessel walls exceeded
recommended limits to ensure safe manufacturing and three of the vessels did not meet
the Code's requirements for toughness. In 2002, NDK had petitioned Illinois'
State Regulators for a special exemption to use the three vessels and this was granted. The vessel designer, Engineering Pressure Systems, recommended that the inside of
the vessels be inspected annually, but the CSB found that neither NDK nor the State of Illinois ever performed regular internal inspections
of any of eight vessels. In January, 2007, pressure vessel Number 6
experienced an uncontrolled leak of hot, caustic material through its lid. The leak sprayed onto the ceiling and fifth
floor of the NDK facility, but caused no injuries. NDK initiated an investigation into the accident. A third party consultant,
hired by NDK's insurance company, determined that the leak in the vessel lid
was caused by stress-corrosion cracking and concluded that the vessels' improper design,
fabrication and material selection were the cause. Later, in August of 2007, the
insurance company informed NDK in a letter that its consultant had serious reservations
about returning the pressure vessels to service and that a decision to do so would be seriously flawed. The insurance consultant specifically cautioned NDK
that far more catastrophic scenarios are possible, putting NDK employees and the public at risk,
specifically naming the Illinois Tollway Oasis gas station, where the truck driver would be killed by
flying debris two and a half years later. Despite this strong warning,
NDK continued to operate the vessels without establishing an internal inspection program or verifying whether the acmite coating was
in fact protecting the vessels from corrosion. And over the years, the State of Illinois only
performed inspections of accessible external surfaces and pressure relief devices of the vessels,
never examining the vessels for corrosion inside. The State had approved the vessels
for non-corrosive use, without thoroughly examining whether the
crystal-growing process would corrode the metal walls. Overall, the CSB found that no certified inspector had
ever performed internal inspections of vessel Number 2 during the six years it was in service. The CSB also found, despite the inherent hazards
of the large-scale, high-pressure process at NDK, it was unsafely sited in a light industrial area,
near other businesses, the Interstate and the rest area. The City of Belvidere has no additional siting or
zoning requirements for heavy industrial facilities or requirements for considering the
offsite impact of industrial accidents. In its report, the Board recommended stricter requirements
for the design of heavy-walled pressure vessels, to reduce the susceptibility to corrosion or damage
in high-pressure operations. The Board also recommended that NDK use an
inherently safer process for growing synthetic crystals, preferably using lower pressures and temperatures. The Board said such a process is
already used by another company in Ohio. The CSB urged that Illinois regulators develop
procedures to better identify pressure vessels subject to corrosion
and require regular internal inspections. And the Board recommended that NDK conduct an
independent facility siting study prior to restarting operators, to address offsite consequences. The CSB concluded that with stricter regulations for
the design and construction of high-pressure vessels, and regular inspections for corrosion,
catastrophic accidents like the one at NDK can be prevented. For more information, please visit CSB.gov. [Music]
Sounds like no one but the insurance company investigator seemed to care about safety.
When I saw that part about the insurance investigators findings I wondered how on Earth NDK kept their policy.
Cases like this speak to the need to counter that on-going political drumbeat which blindly and non-specifically calls for "less regulation" and the elimination of "red tape". When regulation and red tape addresses the safety of workers and the public, such protections must be vigorously defended.
With a goal of profit, the role of business and capitalism is to innovate and fill a need. The goal of protecting worker and public safety often falls in conflict with the profit motive and we need to remain vigilant of those who would try to lessen that consideration.
Laws and regulations need to be in place to apply criminal charges to those who dare to operate in such a way as to increase profit at the expense of the harm or death.
In this case I see a reference to $510,00 fine related to the explosion (http://myplace.frontier.com/~starling61008/rrs0527.pdf ), but can find no criminal charges being filed.
When there are multi-millions of dollars in profit at stake and the only penalty for disregard of safety is a slightly lower profit, it is very predicable what will get compromised.
I've watched a lot of videos on the US Chemical Safety Board's channel. If you like disaster investigations, they have many more interesting videos: USCSB
The lawyers for the victims had a field day. Pretty much EVERYTHING you can do wrong in terms of maximizing liability and minimizing safety, NDK did. Apparently the manager for the US plant never took the corporate philosophies to heart.
Also seems NDK had pockets deep enough to survive this Epic Fail - the plant is still there and operating. The plant was built in 2002.
I love this sub, thanks for the awesome video. I wish I could do this for a living!
This was awesome!
This is what this sub is about! Great find!
I have driven that stretch of I90 for decades and never knew this accident happened. Been in the Belvidere Oasis - basically a turnpike gas station/quickie mart/food court - too many times to count.
Scary as fuck.
Why was the explosion so violent? Liquids are not compressible; it's the reason they do hydrostatic testing with liquid and not gas, so that if it bursts it's not very spectacular.