Investigations launched after second incident at chemical plant

TWO separate investigations are under way after an explosion at a chemical plant in Cork yesterday.

There were no injuries after what was the second incident at the Corden PharmaChem plant in Little Island this week.

Chemicals spilled from an over-pressurised drum held in a storage area on Sunday. However, yesterday’s incident was not related to that incident.

Emergency services were alerted at 9.20am after an apparent explosion in a 20ft-high storage tank to the rear of the plant resulted in a chemical spillage.

The tank contains mostly water-based waste material — a by-product of the company’s manufacturing process.

However, a senior fire officer said hydrogen peroxide and sodium cyanide — extremely hazardous materials — were among the materials spilled.

Four units from Cork City Fire Brigade and four from the county service rushed to the scene. The company’s own emergency response team was already dealing with the incident when they arrived.

The material was contained in a special area around the tank designed to contain such spillages and there was no risk to the company’s 100 employees or to the general public, said third officer Edward Buckley.

Firefighters donned gas- tight hazardous materials suits as a precaution and stood down after 30 minutes, but some units remained on the scene for several hours.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has launched an investigation and the company said it would also be carrying out its own internal investigation to establish the exact cause of the incident.

“The incident consisted of the over-pressurisation of a vessel during a normal procedure involving the treatment of an aqueous waste solution at the rear of the production building PB2,” said Corden managing director Paudie Burke. “This has led to some spillage of the waste solution which has been fully contained.

“A further statement will be issued when the facts become available.”

The Environmental Protection Agency was informed and the plant was evacuated as a matter of routine, with production activity suspended for the day. Administration activities resumed by lunchtime.

The company, established in Little Island in 1974, makes bulk drugs or active pharmaceutical ingredients for the pharma industry.