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CSB Investigation Report No. 2013-03-I-TX 2013 Safety Safety Environmental Environmental
West Fertilizer Ammonium Nitrate Explosion
West Fertilizer Company, Texas
Related equipment → Storage tank (storage_tank)
15Fatalities
200Injuries
ExplosionMechanism code OTH
⌗Failure Mode · ISO 14224 Mapping
Damage mechanism (recorded in KB)
ExplosionOTH
ISO functional code (as recorded)
ISO 14224:2016 functional failure code
OTH · Other
ISO OTH — Other.
1What Happened

Ammonium nitrate warehouse fire -> explosion

2Root Cause

Inadequate fire separation distance + missing fire protection + large AN storage

3Reliability Lessons (from investigation root cause)
  • Inadequate fire separation distance
  • missing fire protection
  • large AN storage
4Associated Failure Mechanisms (Keywords)
fire explosion ammonium nitrate storage corrosion weld crack
About the Failure-Mode Code (click to expand)

The recorded code OTH is an ISO 14224:2016 functional failure code (describes what the equipment failed to do). The damage mechanism (how it failed) is shown in the Mapping block above. The two are distinct dimensions in ISO 14224.

5Evidence Source (transparent)
Authority：U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB)
Official Report：www.csb.gov ↗
Data Verification：verified_url_csb_sitemap
↗Related Failure Modes · Traceability
Bottom Plate Perforation bottom_plate_perforationBottom Weld Crack bottom_weld_crackUnder-deposit Corrosion under_deposit_corrosionShell Thinning shell_thinningWeld Crack weld_crackCorrosion Under Insulation (CUI) cuiRoof Corrosion roof_corrosionFloating Roof Sticking floating_roof_stickingSeal Leak -> VOC Emission seal_leakDifferential Settlement differential_settlementConcrete Crack concrete_crackPad Failure pad_failureFreezing/Sticking freezing_stickingSeat Corrosion seat_corrosionElement Plugging element_pluggingElement Corrosion element_corrosionN2 Supply Loss n2_supply_lossControl Valve Failure control_valve_failureAntenna Fouling antenna_foulingElectronics Failure electronics_failureWire Sticking wire_stickingDisplacer Perforation displacer_perforationContact Corrosion contact_corrosionFloat Sticking float_sticking氨应力腐蚀开裂 MECH-AMMONIA-SCC酸性水腐蚀 MECH-SOUR-WATER高温硫化氢/氢腐蚀 MECH-HT-H2S硫化腐蚀 MECH-SULFIDATION冲蚀/冲刷腐蚀 MECH-EROSION硫氢化铵腐蚀 MECH-ABS大气腐蚀 MECH-ATMOS保温层下腐蚀 MECH-CUI腐蚀疲劳 MECH-CORR-FATIGUE电偶腐蚀 MECH-GALVANIC
Report No. 2013-03-I-TX · Data from CSB public investigation conclusions, compiled by Reliability AI, for reliability demonstration purposes only. This case is derived from public incident investigation reports for learning purposes only. AIM does not endorse or guarantee its accuracy.