WHAT was scheduled to be a routine tapping procedure on Saturday, ended in an accidental chemical leak leaving Tronox’s Empangeni processing plant engulfed in orange smoke.
According to a statement from the heavy mineral producer, the practice involved transferring iron at the plant’s ‘Furnace 2’ before plugging the tap hole using a clay gun.
However, at around 12.45pm, the plugging process failed and the molten iron was diverted to the emergency pit.
‘When the molten iron came in contact with the emergency pit sand, fumes which mainly consist of iron oxide were generated,’ said Tronox.
A ‘while later’ operational staff managed to stop the flow of molten iron and successfully closed the tap hole.
Tronox’s environmental department said fumes released over the ‘relatively short period of time did not pose a risk to people or the environment’.
An incident investigation is currently underway to determine the root cause of the failure.
‘Our emergency procedure was successfully implemented and there was no risk to the safety of employees or infrastructure during the diversion of the iron to the pit,’ stated Tronox.
The uMhlathuze Fire Department and Richards Bay Clean Air Association (RBCAA) said they received no reports of the incident on Saturday.
‘An incident of this nature is always concerning to the RBCAA,’ said Public Officer Sandy Camminga.
‘Our members have a responsibility to notify us of such incidents.
‘While Tronox has complied with the requirements of our Complaints Procedure, they did not inform the RBCAA of this accident.’
RBCAA’s Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet for iron oxide warns that ‘acute short term health affects’ that occur shortly after exposure to the chemical in question, include metal fume fever with flu-like symptoms ranging from fever, chills and aches to chest tightness and coughing.
