The Danger of Popcorn Polymer: Incident at the TPC Group Chemical Plant 

Seems like they've upped the quality from the old days lol.

@@Cbd_7ohm man that's the truth!

They remind me of a show that's known under a lot of different names but was called Air Disasters when I used to watch it.

Sometimes they do very specifically call out companies for ignoring repeated warnings to fix something before it turns into a massive fireball, and then surprise surprise, it turns into a massive fireball. One of the Chevron (Torrance? Richmond?) videos was like that.

​@FayeVert While I do appreciate the efforts of the UCSB, the government has made them useless as all they can do is make "recommendations" or "suggestions". Regardless of how factual their assessments are, it seems their considerations are rarely considered, or worse, ignored.

Same here, this channel is amazing.

I'm not even American and I love this channel!!

Sometimes NASA releases interesting stuff.

Amen to this. These should be the things that our gov't talks about, not the shenannagans that is currently talked about!

To think Trump even wanted to get rid of the USCSB

No deaths IS insane. The fact that it happened in the middle of the night probably helped with low staff on site. Our home is 3 miles down the road from this and it sounded like a freight train coming through our door. … there was a death via heart attack from a nearby city when they woke up and went down the road to see what happened, he just died from shock.

I think it is interesting that this incident has an analog in an unexpected place. A certain nation is run by a cartel that favors running certain operations in unavoidable failure mode. The cartel is loading new population over the nation's borders in quantities much larger than new population numbers from the past. Too little vetting of individuals among the new population is taking place allowing undesirable individuals (i.e. criminals, terrorists) to enter. Concentration of the new population numbers in certain places is causing distress among parts of the native population members. Damages to the members of the native population are occurring. These damages can be expected to rise when the expectations of the new population are increasingly not met. Resources (i.e. economic, police, health care, food distribution, schools) are too short to cover the new needs. Pressures from rarefaction of government services (e.g. police who must deal with so many more people), health care (e.g. hospitals filled with many ill new population) etc. can be expected to strain relations between native members and members of govt. units. The pressures so caused by the cartel cannot be expected to result in smooth operation of the nation's society in the near and far future.

The CSB is one of the few government agencies I'm glad my taxes go towards.

Spent a lot of time in refineries and never heard popcorn like this.

Glad you and your neighbors are still around to tell the story. Sad that the companies that we keep in business do so little to protect their most important investment. You! Peace!

Wow! I'm glad you all are ok! I remember hearing about this, but I don't think it got the coverage it deserved, "fractional distillation tanks trying to enter the space program!" I wasn't aware of that or the duration of fires/contamination. It should've been headline news and for longer. All that destruction, pollution, injury and job loss because they were trying to be cheap. I hope the decision makers were fined, sued, etc.

OMG, I lived over in Orange and we could hear it all the way over there🙀 Did you have any damage? It was definitely scary!

I'm glad to hear that it is shut down. My ex boyfriend's sister in law applied for a chemistry technician position there

​@@MFKR696i mean same thing for the delta p and underwater welders. I still hear guys go "BRO THEY MAKE 100 DOLLARS AN HOUR" not realizing exactly how taxing it is physically. Not to mention you have to either be stupid or a thrill seeker as its a 100 dollars an hour for potentially your life being taken away at any second.

​@@MFKR696my point is people will always do dangerous shit for money

Using graphics technology to clearly explain industry failures. Well done. Stay the course.

I'm not involved in industrial process safety, but I do work in a convenience store and I agree.

I'm a programmer for websites and they're still interesting. They're like slightly technical mini documentaries and I always enjoy watching them

We just added oxygen scavengers to our KLP unit a few years ago. Has worked wonders. Surprised we didn't have them sooner. We had some near misses when the PSV lines filled with popcorn.

I freely admit that I have neither knowledge of nor experience in this field; however, it sounds as though common sense was applied by those who did have knowledge and experience.

Attention seeker

As a boiler operator I routinely added o2 scavengers to the deaerator feed tank.

@@evantilley6192 we had a pair of UOP KLP reactors to covert acetylenes to 1.3 BD and Raff1 ( Isobutylene mostly to feed the MTBE unit) We shuttered those units and an Olefins cracker and a large world scale Aromatics unit in 2009 and turned it into razor blades just to get the Ethylene off the market and keep prices up. I had about $7,000,000 of new process equipment that was never used and the olefins cracker had a $23,000,000 project ready to put in service that was also cut up into pieces. I took chose a severance package and retired.

Wow

Regs are written in blood in most industries.

Great videos, but they always forget to include a profitability analysis. Without that, showing how their recommendations will be less expensive / more profitable over, say, 30 years or more, than simply absorbing the cost of the disasters that occur along the way, along with any insurance they may carry, the companies have no reason to implement the recommendations. Safety is not really a thing for them without the bottom line being involved, and particularly anything that would impact the compensation packages of those in charge. That's why there were plans and processes for dealing with hazards that weren't employed after being recommended and demonstrated prior to this incident. They couldn't see any significant monetary value coming from them.

Cringe

Um. Dude. You're not so smart, are you?

This is government at work... Private sector un-interrupted without any regulation results in 10's of more of these videos.

The narrator's voice adds a chilling, seriousness to them... good stuff

These are certainly interesting in a "mundane horror" kind of sense.

it's the descriptive video diagrams that do it for me

No sensationalizing except for the gruff voice narrator with menacingly irritated tone. He's hinting that someone here is a neglectful, lazy corporate type and should've just had the pump replaced immediately.

That's incredible. I constructed a box from 1/4" plate steel and couldn't believe how heavy the little 18" squares were. Crumpled 1" steel boggles the mind.

Kinda like the fiberglass Titan crumple eh...

They should put that tank on display as a warning of the consequences of doing things wrong.

Maintenance contractor is the one of the most important jobs you can have at a Petrochemical plant

😛@@DecrepitBiden

Sheldon Smith is truly a gift

I like the narrator's voice as well. He has a sweet, grandfatherly voice. ❤🙂

I agree, the animation on these is top notch!

AGREED.

They have the same vibe as the 90s discovery channel disaster documentaries.

LOL Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'm a tax accountant that works from home and here I am watching a RU-vid video on safety procedures at chemical plants.

@@kensmith2796 I do software support and just watched this on my lunch break. I will never work in a chemical plant in my life but love watching these types of videos.

SAAME

Popcorn lung is a horrid illness, and now the same chemical explodes, what fun! :o

I got all buttered up for this one!

Same

I expected it to be about those high pressure popcorn makers that are doing the rounds again!

YESSSSS it's so good!!!

Yeah the lighting is really well done.

Facts

They are not accidents.... accident suggest unavoidable and unforeseeable...these are predictable and preventable....these was a loss of primary containment

I miss before the upgrade. It was quaint.

just stop become regenerative farmers synthetic chemical+textile production is nothing but bad

Never cheap out on safety. That's why China has thousands of deaths in an identical situation where the USA has just a few deaths.

Uh huh.

You're fucking fired.

Not if it interferes with production.

Or lack, thereof...

Thank the narrator!

I was just thinking about the narrator. It’s not a CSB video without him

@@Dudeguymansir The David Attenborough of chemical explosions, wouldn't be the same without him.

Voiceover Actor *Sheldon Smith*

And thanks Mom! Thanks Dad! Also thanks for all the likes, or dislikes.

That's why I'm glad these videos are easily accessible to the public! Makes it so anyone can quickly share them and get the message out :)

@@krissp8712 So many times incidents are caused by "not my job-itus". Which is why safety audits should be treated like an airplane takeoff/landing check-list. Gaps in the check-list cost lives.

​@@sailcat662Yes! Aviation regulations coincide with most other industries. Regs are written in blood 😔

I'm thinking about doing this with my team.

The (hopefully loudly) sung heroes of videos like this!

I've begun to learn CGI, and it was this that drew me to the channel in large part. I'd feel honored to do work such as this for the public good, so that it helps to better capture the imagination.

The graphics were the first thing I noticed! I had to check the comments section to see if anyone else was talking about it.

The liquids specifically were incredibly realistic

... for 2003. lol

I wonder how much the manufacturers pay the media companies to shush.

@@brendandor I live an hour away. It was all over the news when it happened. For local news most people don't need an update for every day something is going on.

National news is political, neither side could derive political benefit from the accident nor was the timing right to use it as a distraction from something else.

This channel is why i scoff at people who acted like the Palestine derailment was an apocalyptic event. Sure, it's not good, but it is not that bad considering what happens in the course of a year.

God forbid the media reports truth

It's funny how disasters like this have happened repeatedly over the decades, yet few people seem to learn the lessons. Most plants think, "Ah, that's their problem, we're all squared away here." Some techs know differently, but either don't make enough of a fuss about it, or their management chain shrugs off or ignores the problems. After the disaster occurs, they act all surprised and then the CYA and finger-pointing starts. And the cycle continues.

Agreed alas my coworkers cannot understand the value of prevention only the requirements of " safety compliance " but not in the sense of preventative maintenance being regularly scheduled and have no way to handle delays or quality control in any stage of processes .

A video shown to most senior management would have one effect, and that would be an uptick in the kind of emails they found when they investigated Enron in the wake of that collapse. The emails had a common theme, " I sure hope I'm not still here holding the bag when this all goes wrong ".

Seriously. "Hey guys, this pump failed, should we replace it?" "Nah, It's probably not important, let's just leave it broken for 3 months!"

That’s why the CSB exists. To implement safety regulations and procedures to strictly adhere to. Plants that deal with flammable and toxic chemicals shall follow these guidelines if they plan on staying in business by being a safe work environment and efficient facility. Let us remember that accidents occur and maintenance does get overlooked. It is our job as professionals who work in the petro chemical industry to understand the systems in the plant, adhere to safety and operating guidelines, and perform shutdown and turnaround projects when needed. I remember a few years back when Philadelphia energy solutions had a major incident when a product lines wall thickness was inspected to be dangerously thin due to cavitation and pitting and a turnaround was overlooked and a catastrophic failure occurred resulting in the closing of the petrochemical refinery.

You're welcome!!!

You're welcome!

Absolutely agree!

I was gonna say the Animations are so good in some parts I thought it was live action b-roll

The live-action parts could use a little work, though. The delivery is wooden and stilted.

big ups to the 3d models and animation the camera work flying through the pipes was amazing.

​@@macdjordI was thinking that. It could be addressed by using the talking head interview format people are accustomed to in documentaries. For better or worse, the more compelling something is, the more likely the message will be received.

i live out here. since your studying it, ask someone what would have happened if indorama would have blown lol. we wouldnt be alive right now lol

@@psychogaming9908 lmao funny you ask! My step dad actually works there! He’s a control board Operator and he tells me all the time that he’s working with a bomb 😂 ofc it’s not funny if anything happens though lmao

Hey man good luck!!! You'll do amazing if you're brought here, definitely. I'm not in engineering whatsoever but I know educational content when I see it. You'll boss that qualification and get a great job keep going on

@@ltipst2962 wow this is inspiring, thank you so much

Good luck in your endeavors! As someone with only a high school chemistry background, this is still fascinating. The fact that you're studying safety in depth is awesome. Sounds like you're being well prepared to make a difference in your field. 🍀

​@@erinmcdonald7781 just ask him out already 😂

@@toasteddingus6925 You are so wrong🤣🤣 @erinmcdonald7781 thanks a lot, good luck with everything

lol I was confused, thinking you were saying Netherlands

I live just 2 miles away In Groves and thought something blew up in my house.

​@@thndr_5468😂 lolol me too, especially because Dutch people have hilarious accents in English and that's how it sounds when they tell you they are from the NEHDERLANDS

As somebody who lives in Nederland I had no idea there was a Nederland in US.

@@toasteddingus6925 Actually, there is at least one other in Colorado! And, while we now pronounce our city's name as [NEEderland], we were founded by Dutch settlers. We have had a Heritage Festival for many years to celebrate our heritage and history in front of the Windmill Museum.

Hey everyone it’s Brick Immortar!! This guy is literally the only channel on RU-vid I would put on par with USCSB videos, cannot recommend him strongly enough, I have even supported his Patreon, it’s that good.

Your videos are also extremely informative. Thanks for all you do as well!

​​@@Syclone0044lright dude jeeeeez. They are good videos. He knows what we want and seeing him here shows we could all spend the Apocalypse talking about these things and die happy.

#YourSafetyMatters

I watch these too, they are awesome, the narration and animations both are impressive and wonderful

Given the general stockholders mentality these days? Not really.

@@TheTrueAdeptthis was a part of the USCSB Drinking Game if I remember correctly too.

They don't care and most plant workers do the bare minimum and head home.

“Why should I spend 10M to save 2M?!” - Project Management making the design trade between the manual and remotely operated iso valves. “Because that 10M is going to seem like a bargain when a catastrophic event occurs.” - Design Safety & Reliability Engineer

@@TheTrueAdept It is not Stockholders. It is Corpo executives. Profit over safety

I would argue, Chem industry doesnt want this govt org around. It costs them more money. They doing public work, not shareholder work

​@@JeffWuschyeah right, blowing up millions of dollars, polluting the environment and killing innocent people sure does increase shareholder values ... No wonder USA are going down the drain, with such worldview.

@@JeffWuschfax

The companies don't care

@@JeffWuschyep, the companies are penny wise, pound stupid. They’ll cut these kind of corners to save money short term then this happens costing them way more in liability and repairs than it would have if they paid for preventative measures originally

Businesses postpone safety upgrades because of expenditure, but when it's compared against plant outage and production downtime plus rebuilding costs, it might be possible to explain to managers how monitoring and maintenance improvements can be a long-term cost-saving measure. Who knows the ways of upper management - they are impenetrable.

You should play the video. Even if you don’t have butadiene, videos like this make people think, and may recognize a hazard not realized.

As a curious lookie look, I like explosions

@@notyou5557 well, some fume hoods could "feel" it.

@@cvdheyden I don't see a fume hood here being the problem. Looks like routine maintenance of the dead leg with the pile of popcorn polymer was the major problem. You'd think a professional business that has a plant this size to do one thing would know all there is to know about that one thing. Reckless gross negligence

@@notyou5557 that was just a joke when I was studying chemistry. 😂. We of course tried to set up some small "explosions". I agree, it was of course reckless and gross negligence. I never get it: All these disasters have been avoidable by implementing basic rules and safety procedures.

@@cvdheyden profit can't be the only motive for human existence. That's what alot of this boils down to

I'm from the area and lots of people had damage to their homes and vehicles. The explosion rattled my house from miles away. Some people had windows get busted and stuff.

@@jamesdesormeaux1074still not the worst outcome!

Yes! That is what everyone should take away from these videos, no matter what line of work you're in - management isn't going to fix it the first time you notify them. At best they might fix it the 5th time. At worst they might let your entire jobsite explode and rain shrapnel upon the neighborhood while you and your coworkers are burned to smithereens. So, know how to report hazards to OSHA, your local buildings department, the fire marshall, etc

No. If something is wrong then you aren't making it a problem, it is already a problem. You're making it a priority. Because people didn't make controlling the popcorn polymer a priority, it became a half billion dollar problem. If you "make" problems, you're a troublemaker. If you're stopping problems before they get bigger, you're a problem solver.

@@unkannyunkanny9232nope unfortunately he was right with his wording. That’s big corporations for you. They love ignoring problems that aren’t extremely urgent yet and if you constantly remind them about it, you become the problem in their eyes. It’s the utmost stupid behavior,but that’s American corporations for you.. Try working in Germany, I worked in many countries and Germany handles it the best way. They instantly take care of everything, no matter if a specially trained maintenance person reports something or a cleaning worker smells something funny. It gets prioritized and an investigation is conducted instantly to minimize the occurrence of a catastrophic failure.

As someone who's been in this particular TPC plant many times , you are so right . They ran that plant like garbage.

@@texasslingleadsomtingwong8751 looks to be one of the issues, and i'm glad your able to write this comment considering. stay safe out there

Huntsman was smart to sell off the butadiene production . That plant ( tpc) is a rat hole. Nearly wrecked Air Liquide next door.

It's crazy that people can run a business with such disregard for people, cause a giant disaster because of obvious reasons, and walk away with a bonus and get hired as a board member at another chemical company.

@@angiepangie989it’s Texas the owners just have to donate to the Governor and they can do what they like

Tpc was the worst of all the local Golden triangle plants I've been in . I've been in nearly all of them due to being affiliated with TCEQ ( public water safety stuffs) you are so right

@epincion oh no no no . Check this out ! About an hour after the explosion , the mayor of the town was on TV in his home casual clothes , spouting off hoe good TPC was for the community and how TPC would get everything back to normal. Meanwhile, this dear mayor is standing in his yard just in front of his severely damaged home . He lives across the street from TPC ! I wonder if he has kickbacks?

@@angiepangie989 i definitely agree. It does happen. They should be in jail!

OSHA For the Win

Well they make chemicals for products that include agrochemicals; alternative energy; home detergents and personal care products; adhesives and coatings; mining; and curing agents. They improve performance such as fade resistance, UV-blocking and the ability to repel water and stains in apparel, home, and technical textiles. So if you want to quit using deoderant and toothpaste and painting your house and quit wasing clothes and add solar power, you're gonna have to move to a cave. Oh and the rubber they make holds your socks up, and they make plastics for sandals and your car interior is made of every thing they make as well.

It’s always the goddamn management lock the bastards up

some criticize them for being too mild, not being able to put suffieicient pressure on industries so maybe sla k givern

Oh but I thought all safety agencies were terrible and stop GOOD OL BOYS from doing it the way they did it in the good ol days.

I agree. I think that would be cool.

As an educator, I can see where a video like that would be useful in a number of different classes. Introducing students to real-world applied science and the importance of safety. Also, the agency's videos demonstrate clearly what safety and regulatory bodies are supposed to do, perfect for government and economics courses. Since production quality is already there, I expect that a video or series elaborating on their investigation process would just as engaging.

@@erinmcdonald7781 Indeed, I think it would be fascinating. There's obviously a lot of science behind trying to discern what happened, but also significant human engagement, visiting onsite, dealing with continuing risks, etc. That's one heck of a skill set for someone to have who's good at this. Or perhaps it's split into many roles, I've no idea. They say it's wise to learn from past mistakes, but rarely is that process of learning explored. We tend only to see the end result, the conclusions. Ditto for air crash investigations (I often watch the blancoliro channel for coverage on such reports). Speaking of whom, following the damage at the Oroville dam in 2017, blancolirio (Juan Brown, a 777 pilot) ended up doing an incredible series of videos covering exactly how the damage was repaired over the subsequent years, gaining the respect of the agencies involved, being invited behind the scenes, etc. Here's one of the playlists (there's another for the Phase II repairs, etc.): ru-vid.com/group/PL6SYmp3qb3uMCqXIp7mYmiAPeEVoazpUE ie. he detailed *how* such damage is repaired, why it's done in the way it is, the rationale behind the construction methods, aspects of the investigative process and so on. One can learn so much about a slice of life that is normally an unknown to most people. I see parallels between what blanco did with Oroville and the current unknown of how the USCSB conducts its investigations. I also think understanding the process would provide inspiration to the young in terms of potential careers, one of so many fields that are never mentioned at school when deciding one's direction in life (another example being materials science, something that has an impact on everything, including the issues with which the USCSB must contend).

While I can’t say how exactly they do an investigation. You can look at the date of some of these events they’ve made videos on and the date the video is posted to get an idea of how long an investigation takes as posting these videos is like closing the case file for them.

😂😂😂

It turns out that most of the federal organizations are just as necessary. It's just that the USCSB is the only one that corporations haven't tried to sabotage because it hurts their profits. The GOP actually tried to massively cut the USCSB's funding during the Trump administration. But chemical companies lobbied to *keep* it well-funded, because it's just that useful for identifying potential hazards.

A good day for me would never have the need for this channel because companies take the safety of workers so seriously that these accidents stop happening.

No, it's a bad day since it means something happened.