'Increase in vacuum pressure&temp,reduction of boiling point of mixture caused fire mishap'

Increase in vacuum pressure and temperature and reduction of boiling point of the mixture caused the rupture of a reactor in a pharmaceutical company at nearby Parwada, leading to the death of a worker and severe burn injuries to another, a preliminary probe said on Tuesday.

Increase in vacuum pressure and temperature and reduction of boiling point of the mixture caused the rupture of a reactor in a pharmaceutical company at nearby Parwada, leading to the death of a worker and severe burn injuries to another, a preliminary probe said on Tuesday. The five-member official committee that began an inquiry into the July 13 fire mishap, stated this in their report submitted to Visakhapatnam Collector V Vinay Chand on Tuesday.

"The desirable vacuum in the reactor was 600-650 mm, but the vacuum pressure was observed to be 350 mm at 9 pm (on Monday). The temperature also rose from 75 degrees Centigrade to 95 degrees," the Committee, headed by the Revenue Divisional Officer, said in its preliminary report.

The process parameters of various chemicals like Toluene, Methanol and Acetone also varied and the boiling point of the chemical mixture obviously decreased, it said. "Due to this reduction and possibly due to the chemical mixture reaching a flash point, the pressure subsequently increased, followed by rupture of the reactor," the report said.

The fire mishap occurred at the Visage Solvents Unit. A junior operator Kandregula Srinivasa Rao (44) was killed in the mishp, while the chemist Thavva Malleswara Rao (34) sustained severe burn injuries, the report added.

Three other workers, who were also at the unit when the mishap occurred, escaped to safety with little injuries, police sources said on Tuesday. After an overnight operation that lasted over four hours, State Disaster Response and Fire Services personnel finally doused the flames on Tuesday morning.

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