Case study on the catastrophic explosion of a chemical plant for production of m-phenylenediamine

Abstract On March 21, in Xiangshui County, Yancheng city, China, a catastrophic explosion occurred at Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd. that caused 78 deaths and injured more than 617 individuals, with a property loss of as much as US$ 100 million. An explosion crater with a diameter of 98 m was generated. An extensive consequence analysis based on the crater size and physical effects for the estimation of the quantity of exploded dinitrobenzene (DNB) was performed. By using the position recorded in the satellite photo and the layout of the plant, the crater site was determined to be located near a warehouse where dinitrobenzene was stored. From the scaling law associating the TNT equivalent with crater diameter, the TNT equivalent of exploded ditrobenzene was determined to be approximately 708 tons. Based on the results of the consequence analysis performed by three methodologies, it can be concluded that the Tianjiayi Chemical Co. warehouse not only stored a substantially large quantity of dinitrobenzene but was also located too close to adjacent structures without an adequate separation distance. Judging by the effect of explosive blast on personnel, a fatality radius was determined to be about 400 m from the explosion center.