Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism: TICs & TIMs

Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism
Training Support Package
Participant Guide
Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism:
TICs & TIMs
Texas City, TX Industrial Accident
Releasing HF (October 31, 1987)
• ~30,000 pounds of hydrofluoric acid leaked from an HF
alkylation reactor drum when a 50 foot long convection unit
was dropped on the vessel
• Vapors emitted under pressure for 2 hours
• Estimate of AEGLS 3 at ~3/4 mile away
• ~4000 residents evacuated for 3 days
• >1000 people to hospital with skin, eye, nose/throat irritation
and pulmonary symptoms
• No fatalities
Module One – Toxic Industrial Gases as Terrorist Threats
49
The last gas we will cover in this module is hydrofluoric acid (HF). In concentrated form,
HF is a gas. The largest industrial accident related to HF occurred about 20 years ago
when a piece of equipment was dropped by a crane onto a reactor vessel at an oil
refinery in TX, releasing HF under pressure. The leak continued for 2 hours. It is
estimated that life-threatening concentrations of the gas (AEGL 3) extended nearly one
mile from the site. More than 1000 people were evaluated for symptoms and 4000
residents were evacuated for 3 days, at which point the leak had been plugged and
remaining diluted HF drained.
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