U.S.A. - Massive fire, Illinois Carus Chemical, chemical plant , no injuries reported

[MJCronin]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chemical-plant-fire-la-salle-illinois-carus-chemical/

MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer

 

[cranky108]

I heard about this this morning on the news. What is the purple stuff people found all over there yards?

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

permanganate?

Its will be hellish if it produced engineering blue..... takes years for that to fade away.

 

[Latexman]

Idk about the purple stuff, but one of the videos in the link said "to not touch a GREEN chemical residue because it can stain skin".

Good Luck,
Latexman

 

[SuperSalad]

Potassium permanganate. Oxidizer, pretty dangerous in it's raw form.

- Andrew

 

[JohnRBaker]

I would suspect that "staining your skin" would be the least of the concerns that I would have if I found purple and green 'slime' laying around my yard right after an explosion at a nearby chemical plant.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[Latexman]

Carus is a family run business since 1915; 108 years old. Impressive.

Good Luck,
Latexman

 

[SuperSalad]

I'll assume the material being found in the community is wet if it is slimy. If they let it dry out while it is on flammable materials, that could result in some problems. But it sounds like the situation is well in hand with no injuries and notices going out to the community. The company seems to have plenty of experience with the material and I'd assume the release response will likely be handled by knowledgeable professionals.

- Andrew

 

[Latexman]

SuperSalad,

Carus also makes Polymers. Given that, they may have reducers on site too. Mixing oxidizers and reducers in concentrated form is kind of like mixing matter and anti-matter. BOOM! Flash Fire! This is my pure speculation. I have read nothing that suggests that is what happened. I am interested in hearing the real reason. Hopefully we don't have to wait months/years on the CSB!

Good Luck,
Latexman

 

[TugboatEng]

Please tell me this isn't going to further cripple our isocyanate/polyurea supply.

 

[MJCronin]

https://abc7chicago.com/carus-chemical-explosion-potassium-permanganate-la-salle-fire/12692391/

MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer