Imagine walking back to your car after going inside to pay and coming back out just to die because someone that you've never heard of, didnt inspect their crap
Imagine finding out your significant other or parent isn't coming home because they died because a stupid industrial accident they had absolutely nothing to do with, caused by someone not inspecting their crap.
@@Takeshi357 And even more than that, the company that was responsible was given an excemption by state regulators! That the very designer of the equipment TOLD the company to inspect it regularly, and neither the company nor the state ever bothered. No one cared until someone died, and even then, they didn't care about the dead person, they cared about _getting blamed for it_ . It's just so far beyond absurd. "Oops! Sorry about your loved one! BTW, we're not responsible. Good luck with the funeral for whatshisface."
Props to the Engineer who did the inspection on behalf of the Insurance company for trying to get the message across that it was horribly unsafe and going to cause SERIOUS problems. They did their job to the best of their ability, it is a shame NDK didn't bother to listen.
Duty to inform and duty to uphold public safety are explicitly written into the code of professional ethics for most engineers. But yes, the technical foresight they had in predicting this failure is impressive. Such flagrant negligence by the owner should result in criminal charges imho. The warning letter absolutely doesn't mince words in stating that the vessels shouldn't be returned to service and detailing the consequences of a failure.
Dear USCSB: Thank you for contracting such talented animation professionals. Rebel Animation is absolutely amazing, and the primary reason I watch your videos!
Levi Alexander Maes I know, right? These videos are so good we need a schedule of upcoming releases so we can plan ahead and prepare our popcorn with something to look forward to.
@btf wrong!, corruption and greed are the cancer. The state regulators and the insurance co. should have shut them down long before, but neither wanted to stop the cash cow of money, "premiums, bribes, payoffs etc.
btf Capitalism is the only reason the public knows about these incidents. The Soviet government would have covered it up. Even obvious mishaps like Tianjin had the Chinese government censoring media about it. They stockpiled 70x the legal limit of Ammonium Nitrate by cutting corners. Sound familiar? I don't feel like waiting in line for toilet paper; I'll take my Capitalism.
The NDK was about a good mile and a half from a Belvidere High School. From the front door, you can clearly see the building so it was close. I remember being in my Biology class having the day almost done. We were doing an activity when we heard a loud boom from what we assume to be from upstairs. We all thought it was some sort of shelf or a bunch of books fell till we saw a class go outside. I didn't realized how bad it was till our principle went over the intercom stating that Highway 20 is close so students must take a different path home. At that point I was confuse till the day end and I went outside to see emergency personals surrounding the building. I saw the news the night of the accident explaining that the building exploded killing one man. It was the talk for a while in school.
So, if the insurance company knew it was dangerous, why didn't they suspend the insurance? Surely they don't agree to cover anything the company wants to do? If they did suspend it, why was the plant allowed to operate? That is how it is supposed to work.
+Doc Memory Good question! Perhaps the insurance inspector's recommendations, though noted, were not considered a good enough reason to anger an important customer -- short-sighted "business considerations" trumping sound engineering. Something analogous happened with the Challenger, of course.
Because if the government actually enforced anything the company would shut down the plant and get rid of jobs so that it ruins the economy and someone loyal to the company gets elected in the next election
Makes you wonder which was more economic: hiring the Illinois legislature to get your exemptions from the law, or thr cost of replacing (or at least inspecting inside) the faulty tanks.
Working in a industrial manufacturing facility, there's always something to learn from these csb videos that can be applied to make operations more safe, even if the process is different
Also, I would really like more videos from the USCSB. I do a lot of contract work in chemical plants in germany and I like to pass on thiése videos to plant engineers when given the chance.Especially the videos on nitrogen asphyiation, welding safety and dust explosion hazzards were recieved quite positively.
I am curious, who received the videos nicely, the engineers at the chemical plants ? When I talk to my customers about safety, usually they listen out of politeness, but I can tell they would rather not hear.
trespire I used to work in germany, the people liked the info were member of what is called "Werksfeuerwehr". They have one full time employed fire chief and the rest are trained employees.They had weekly meetings to excange thoughts.Dust explosion hazard and nitrogen aphixiation were things the fire chief thought me on the first day on the job.
As an American, it's really awesome to hear our government's safety efforts are being freely shared and utilized worldwide. I feel proud in a rare manner.
This is really interesting. I collect a lot of synthetic crystals, and the ones made with the high pressure caustic lye solution are always more perfect than the ones made with calcium carbonate at lower temperatures and pressures. Even the folks over at Sawyer Labs in Cleveland will tell you that their process grows crystals roughly half as fast as the process NDK was using. Thus, the big crystals you saw in this video would take around 300 days to grow at 350 degrees Celsius using a calcium carbonate mineralizing agent. It's interesting to note that the Chinese now grow most of the world's synthetic Quartz. I'm going to assume that their policy of extremely light regulation allows them to use the dangerous high pressure, high temperature, and highly caustic process. I have seen crystals weighing in at ten to fifteen kilograms coming out of their huge autoclave. In complete fairness to NDK management, it should be noted that a LOT of scientific literature states that the acimite coating (which is usually purposely encouraged during a "run in" crystal growth process, is widely accepted in scientific literature to protect the walls of the pressure vessels from subsequent corrosion damage. In fact, I have a bunch of "control crystals" (small crystals grown for the purpose of verifying the growth parameters) that are colored greenish brown because iron from the walls of the growth vessel is incorporated into the crystals themselves during the run-in. Check out my video on synthetic Quartz grown by the former Soviet Union. It's funny to note that a crystal scientist from Sawyer labs has several smaller pressure vessels in his garage in which he grows various beautiful Quartz crystals. I wonder if his neighbors know they are living near a bomb?
I knew someone who worked for a company that grew quartz crystals in the ground using high voltage. He had some samples that were really nice looking and apparently very valuable. they also had a solid metal rod through the middle.
This whole thing would have a different color if they had inspected any of the pressure vessels at all, ever. Cracking ought to show up on ultrasonics, right? Don't even necessarily need to open the thing.
I've been to the kinds of meetings where managers convince themselves the Insurance study and/or government or other safety engineers recommendations are crap and do not need to be followed. The "Good Old boys" all know each other. the "Boss" is the guy they all want to please. He calls the meeting, and everyone reads the letter listing the violations and short comings of the process in question and corrections recommendations from the inspection people. "Boss Guy" then rubs the side of his nose, rocks back in his chair, looks very serious down his glasses at the "Boys" "Well? What do you guys think?" One guy- usually the best golfing pal of the "Boss"; "Hell, Bob (Seems the "Boss Guy" is always a Bob)-We know our process better than any insurance goof ball. I say we wait. to hell with those pansy assed recommendations.".: Most of the "boys" eagerly nod in agreement- what else are they supposed to do? And anyone who objects to that tone of ass kissing, who knows the existing process is dangerous and shaky at best, just keeps their mouth shut, usually studying the spots on the floor. I would invariably speak up- like the idiot i was- -; "From the Safety Department, I see no reason not to follow the recommendations. We should at least verify the insurance inspectors findings. If it makes the place safer, what do we have to lose?" Then come the guffaws. "Oh, you Safety guys- you are always such "scaredy cats"." Laughter all around. The "Bob the Boss" giving me a long look of pity, slightly wagging his head in disappointment- "Only Money, Mr. Safety man- you never think of that, do you?" Well there went my Christmas bonus. Then the decision of "wait on it" is made- in other words, do nothing!- at least until some future "sign post" like a never before attained high profit statement or a new manager comes along or a letter from some Big Wig upstairs tells them to comply or something just as stupid. And they do not forget that meeting- even though most often no minutes are kept- no letters written- no responsibility is assumed- it is like it never happened. But, of course, if the place blows up- the Boss Bob will be sure to find someone who was at the meeting to blame it all on. The general thinking is; Nothing bad has happened in all these years of operating like that and probably nothing will happen before these jokers are gone from the company anyway with their cushy profit sharing and retirement bonuses. But, months later someone would invariably say to me; - "See? That thing is still standing/hasn't blown up/killed anyone...what were you all worried about Safety Man?" Then, I get the notice that the budget for the Safety Department has been cut again- in the interest of saving expenses. That's how it was back in the old days of the 80's...and I would betcha it is still the same today.
How would that meeting have changed if the head of accounting, the one *everybody* listens to since that person is always looking at the bottom line, tells the Boss Man that the insurance company will no longer cover them if the company continues to do things the way they've always done? At that point, their cushy profits are suddenly at risk of disappearing in a flash. When people don't look past their own wallets, *that's* where you pose the threat to force the change.
The problem always seems to be that with safety and security, when the system works, nothing bad happens. The longer a site goes without incident, the more management starts to think all that safety and security is excessive and wasteful. Then the cuts start, and once they start they're hard to stop because they usually have no immediate negative consequences. So they keep going, like a Jenga tower, trying to see how much they can cut away while still meeting bare minimums. Then, when disaster strikes, it turns into the blame game. Someone else is always at fault, so nobody is held responsible. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who's business decisions reflect a "Profit Above All" mentality should be given no authority over safety matters. The highest ranking person in any chemical manufacturing business shouldn't be the CEO, but the god damn safety officer.
This is one reason I always make sure to keep minutes of important meetings, and mail them around after the fact. Put it in writing. They won't like it but... you're in the documented clear.
@@devtrash Also, Congress would have a fit of vapours at the thought of billionaire potential political donors not being protected from all possible consequences.
As I understand it, investigation agencies aimed at understanding and preventing recurrance of accidents are often kept deliberately seperate from investigation agencies aimed at blame and prosecution, because people are more likely to be open and honest if they belive the investigators are not out to get them.
the acimite/acmite was actually seen as a protective feature in scientific literature. It's fairly easy to see a company going 'we have these scientific reports saying it's good, it should be fine.' Granted, that third-party inspection should have clued the lot of them in, but disregarding one bad piece of information because the rest is good is ever so common in humanity.
There should have NEVER been ANY US government agency to green light this Japanese corporation in operating this kind of inherently dangerous facility. Especially in the zoning it operated out of. You can bet there was some kind of under the table money exchanged to allow this to happen.
@@rondj1965 oh no, these foreign agents and a few bad apples are at fault here, don't look any closer for any systemic structures at play here because they totally don't exist. Thus, the solution is war with japan and it's _cronyism_
How does the CSB hope to continue to improve safety around the country when companies will just blatantly ignore warnings like this? Shouldn't someone be criminally responsible for choosing not to inspect something that ends up exploding and killing people?
Hood Glasses yes they should, but capitalists lobby the government to make them not enforce anything under the threat of shutting down their facilities and creating unemployment
Botchamania JEEZUS wow. Shows what a great company they are holding peoples jobs hostage because the actions of greedy managers caused a death and they don’t want to go to prison
@@botchamaniajeezus Socalist and state-owned chemical & manufacturing plants have a far worse safety track record. This is because they have no capitalist motivations to maintain equipment for profitability. Just look at Pemex. Petróleos Mexicanos.
@@okboomer6201 The only two options aren't "you can kill people and get away with it" and "everything must be state owned". As for capitalist motivations for maintaining equipment... well these videos are ample proof that often short term stock performance matters more than long term sustainable profits in capitalist countries.
As a fixed equipment mechanical integrity professional, I shook my head in disbelief when the disaster investigation results first came out, and now again years later after YT's algorithm suggested the video. I'm not surprised that the state inspectors didn't appreciate the risks, as it requires a thorough understanding of operation and inservice degradations - probably something they are better at today.
SCC is a huge issue in the chemical processing industry and apparently not that well understood. One look at a thick-walled metal vessel makes it look bullet-proof when in reality it's a fractured time bomb.
I think the leading reason for the lengthy negligence of inspections is the confidence of those in charge that they will not be held criminally liable.
I don’t understand why they would think that the mixture would react with the iron in the walls of the vessel without iron being consumed and, thus, weakening the structure. The top leadership of NDK need to go to prison.
We always drive past that place on our way to visit family in Rockford since the Genoa Road bridge is temporarily closed. That building fascinates me, but I think it's ugly and they need to tear it down. Anyway, thanks for uploading. This helps me better understand what went on inside that place. Not properly maintaining things can have it's consequences, and this a perfect example.
I love these videos so much I’m a CIH and it’s amazing to see how much these videos relate to my everyday experiences. This also provides new insight on future issues to look out for.
I know a lot of people will day that regulatory agencies could have prevented this disaster. but even all the regulators in the world would not have been able to put one millionth as much pressure on NDK for its flawed pressure vessel designs and lack of inspections as Traveller's Insurance. Traveler's could have stipulated that further use of the pressure vessels will void any and all insurance policies NDK holds with Traveler's Insurance. THAT would have forced force NDK to act.
Exactly. Do you really think industry will run itself and make the best choices to the health of the people working there? Hell no. Its all about making money in the cheapest way possible.
Realization of the Self I guess it after it's been inspected and okayed by the customers/engineering inspector and gets the "U" stamp of approval on the nameplate, I believe it has to be inspected again during or after installing by the states boiler or vessel guy. But I would guess NGK didn't want to shell out the money for a anti-corrosive type of alloy.
As an engineer your video makes me more aware about the saftey issues and make my and workers life safe.Love from India 🇮🇳 .US always provides things with best explanation such that even a worker can understand .Love Your Finding for each causes ❤️
If you think thats what led to the collapse you're grossly ignorant and need to do some research. People have always made dumb investments, brokerage firms and banks weren't always allowed to co-mingle commercial and investment banking, i.e. mortgages and stocks? Ever heard of Glass-Steagall and what happened after it was repealed? Ever heard of the S&L scandal of the early 90's?
The CSB doesn't really concern itself with law enforcement, those are outside of its mandate. A quick Google perusal doesn't list any charges, possibly because the company never resumed operations. More than half the articles are reporting on this video or the report, the successful lawsuit against the insurer is found, tearing down the building.. no charges that I can see.
The inspection shouldn't have been recommended but mandatory. But that's what happens when politicians are paid to deregulate industries to increase their profits.
There was a lot of "oofs" along the way and warning signs that something bad could happen, but when you don't have strict oversight forcing people to do the "right thing" then they usually won't.
Until CEOs are put in prison, this will continue to happen because it will always be cheaper to risk an accident, than spend the money required to inspect and improve things. In America and Canada, no CEO ever goes to jail for things like this. It never happens. Not so in other parts of the world.
Canadian law changed in the past few years, where now CEOs and plant managers can be charged with manslaughter under certain circumstances, if I understand it correctly. Might be worth researching as it seems to be a very effective change.
@@Syclone0044 It's been in force for many years now, and was a result of the Westray coal mine disaster. I remember reading recently in the news it was used on a bakery where they had a known unsafe conveyor which ultimately lead to a horrific death.
Or worse, they get "let go" with $200,000,000 severance package LOL. Oh, you failed so you got to go, but here is more money than all of your combined employees will ever see. Bye!
I lived about 10 minutes away from this building! I was at school a few towns over so I never knew until I got home for the day, but everyone nearby felt the ground shake when the blast happened, including my siblings at the middle school a few miles away. The 1 truck driver that was killed by debris was very near retirement, I believe it was his last week.
In all of these videos, it would be satisfying to know if anyone was held responsible for negligent or criminal behavior, and what kind of punishment they received. Without this follow up, it seems like anyone can get away with anything.
The parent company pulled up their stakes and vacated the US. Lots of jobs were lost because of the embarrassment caused that NDK didn't want to remember.
Confined spaces can be a pain in the arse especially when filled with lye, but what excuse is there if you're doing a shutdown every 150 days to extract your product? In any respect, to make things easier & safer for workers I would design an inspection camera rig based on spring-loaded wheels to ride up and down the tubes. I'd also suggest the insertion of a non-permeable membrane (a big sock) inside the vessels to be changed every 150 days.
Considering the pressure, temperature, and corrosive nature of the materials I'd say you would need dye penetration, magnetic particle, ultrasonic, AND radiography. A simple visual inspection would almost be more dangerous than not doing any inspection at all. You'd fool yourself into a false sense of security.
The vessels should be internally clad with a corrosion resistant material like hastelloy. Of course this would be expensive and by no means replace the need for proper inspections.
The vessels shouldn't have been built above ground. If they had been built in a recessed below ground facility it would have encapsulated the explosive force an channeled the shockwave upward.
Not directly relevant, but I'm curious: how are the grown crystals harvested from the tank? Seems like anything involving going inside the tanks to remove them would have been a prime opportunity to inspect the internal tank walls.
It seems to me like you'd need to use penetrant dye or X-ray testing on this, since the fractures couldn't be optically inspected. They still should have done it, of course, but it wouldn't have been a simple process, I think.
Somehow I find this series of videos extremely entertaining. Especially great is the part at the beginning where they describe the chemical or material that is going to explode.
This is a lot more common than what people think. I work in the plastic injection molding industry, and our molder barrels run at 15,000 PSI - 30,000 PSI and they're never inspected. Not even molders that run highly corrosive plastics like PVC. I fully and whole heartedly expect one of them to go off like a bomb some day. Hopefully, it's not me that's killed by the boom.
Thank you guys for making videos I’m in middle school and plan on becoming a welder when Im older although I’m considering maybe being a welding engineer because my neighbor who works at a place that manufactures turbines for energy purposes he manages the welders there and is a mechanical engineer he told me when he found out I was planning on being a welder that I need to go into welding engineering my grandpa was a engineer and worked at many cotton gins around my town your videos could save my life someday keep the videos coming
I usually pass by that factory while I drive to Chicago, and it's still looking the way it after the collapse of that reactor (Until I drove past the Belvidere Oasis in December 2015)
That no company directors, executives or managers were never charged with the premeditated death of the driver that was killed is utterly repellent! To have continued on as before after being served that engineering inspection report which explicitly stated the real dangers present and the annual inspection regime that was necessary in order to operate safely establishes the companies absolute contempt for public, employee and community safety! There should have been prosecutions for causing the death of that driver, the damage and injuries at the neighbouring building and the public danger! After that, the company should have been served with a compulsory winding up order, after paying compensation and fines!
I have a sneaking suspicion that even if NDK performed an inspection in 2007, and found internal corrosion, they would have put the vessel back into service anyway.
I'm most shocked to learn that the vessels did not meet the ASME Pressure Vessel code. This is like Pressure Vessel 101, how did it make it past engineering? And how did no one else question why these vessels are not engineered and fabricated to meet industry standard design codes!?? Mind boggling!
I like how you let them know that they could have prevented it and they intentionally let it happen. Not sure why employers aren't charged in criminal court. No candy asses allowed.
@@conflagrationTuesday They are not a US company. Japan *might* have an extradition treaty with the US but super-rich corporate bigwigs based overseas have immunity from such things.
Matthew Trzcinski : Nope. Bell/WE sank their autoclaves in the earth. They were nowhere NEAR as prolific a producer as NDK (a Japanese Co.). Their growth chambers were about 10ft tall and maybe 12" in diameter. Their crystals were also a lot smaller.
How could someone operate giant vessels at 2000 bar/400°C, uninspected? I have been servicing 134°C/2,2 bar sterilizers for some years and they require inspection of the boilers supplying steam and change relief valves every 12 months!
Boilers and pressure vessels along with pressure relief valves and safety relief valves all have different inspection intervals depending on where they are located. The laws vary from areas called jurisdictions. Some entities are states or providences, some counties and cities are jurisdictions. Inspection on some equipment isn't even required annually. It it's variable....... and subject to variances, or exemptions.
Ive been binge watching these videos, and i swear every... Single... One has the same basis... Company wants to save money, so they sacrifice safety and it inevitably backfires down the road.
I remember this; I was spending time with a friend up in unincorporated Belvedere at her house and after a late lunch we heard a HUGE explosion and a minor rumble was felt. It was insane... Moments later, we saw a massive smoke plume. SMH, Leave it to Illinois "regulators" to do a half-assed job to inspect subpar industrial plants 🙄
As mad as I am on the behalf of the man who lost his life despite someone explicitly telling the company that this would happen, I can’t even imagine how his relatives felt when that letter was made public.
I drove past that building back in August 2013 when my dad, my sister and me where in a road trip to go to Chicago. I was wondering what that building was. Now I know.
I always wondered what happend to that building I was up and down I-90 for so long I had stopped for a while then started taking it again and it was like the building was there and gone
May 27, 2010 - NDK Crystals in Belvidere, Ill., was fined $510,000 by the Occupational Safety and ... the U.S. Labor Department agency reported Thursday.
How did no one go to jail? Why is it okay for companies to kill people but if you hit and kill someone while driving sober you go to jail. They knew how bad it was. The people in charge need to be jailed!
WOW. Worst up keep I have heard yet. I hope they got sued. And I don't usually hope those things, but this is ridiculous. Absoulutely, completely unjustifiable.
