3,400 employees in the industrial park on Herøya were evacuated to gas-proof rooms on Thursday morning. It took almost three hours before they were released and the situation was under control. Factory manager Ole-Jacob Siljan at Yara in Porsgrunn tells news that the gas leak occurred due to a fault in the power supply to parts of the system in the acid factory. – Some valves opened and then we had a local Nox leak in one factory, he explains. Fear of wind Siljan says there was no wind on Herøya when the leak occurred. – Then it is difficult to say what will happen if it suddenly starts blowing in one direction or another. We therefore prioritized evacuating all employees to gas-tight rooms. Factory manager Ole-Jacob Siljan at Yara in Porsgrunn. Photo: Berit Heggholmen / news Thursday’s gas leak was the sixth unwanted incident in the industrial park so far this year. – Why does it happen again and again? – Firstly, it is a large factory. There are eight factories at Yara in Porsgrunn. These are unrelated incidents and there is no connection between the various incidents, says Siljan. – Never be a danger to those around you. He compares Thursday’s incident to a fuse or a light bulb blowing in your home. – Then you can get an error in the electrical system. Our systems are set up in such a way that when we get an error, the first thing we do is bring the factory down to a safe state. To achieve that, we have to shut down the factory, says Siljan. Traffic was diverted away from the industrial park. Photo: Nils F. Skumsvoll Then a local alarm is triggered and in some cases a factory alarm goes off. – It is simply because we want to have control over people. As the emergency services say, today’s incident shows that no one was exposed to gas. There was never any danger to the surroundings either. Often presses the big button The factory manager clarifies that the most important thing they do is to take care of life and health. – Then we often press the big button instead of sitting and waiting to see what happens. – But when it happens so often, don’t you have control? – Yes, we have control. That is exactly what the system shows. If we had not been in control, people could have been exposed to gas and injured. Siljan describes Yara’s facilities on Herøya as complicated factories. – We cannot control the fact that there is a fault in the power supply or that a thunderstorm knocks out the factory. We do the best we can. DSB considers supervision The Directorate for Community Security and Preparedness (DSB) was quickly notified of Thursday’s incident. – In accordance with its routines, Yara has both notified and kept us at DSB continuously informed about the gas leak at Herøya, says Acting Director Johan Marius Ly at DSB. Now he is waiting for a report from Yara. – What happens next is that such incidents must also be reported more formally in the form of a more detailed report that describes both the cause and the sequence of events, says Ly. He does not rule out that an inspection may be carried out at Yara’s plant in Porsgrunn. Johan Marius Ly is acting director in the Directorate for Social Security and Preparedness (DSB). Photo: Press photo – Once we have received and gone through the report, we will assess whether we should follow up, for example through an incident-based inspection at Herøya. The DSB director says that they have previously supervised several industrial companies both on Herøya and elsewhere. – The most important thing is that we have a good dialogue and are continuously informed, such as with today’s incident on Herøya. – Always a certain risk The residents of Porsgrunn have to expect that incidents like this happen from time to time, says the factory manager. – When you run large factories there is always a certain risk that something could happen. We work every day to keep our factories risk-free, says Siljan. – Do you think it’s going well? – Yes, I think so considering how large and complex these factories are. I wish it didn’t happen and that I didn’t have to stand here and explain why it happens, says Siljan, and adds: – The most important thing for the population to know is that when this happens, we are in control. Published 08/08/2024, at 20.13
ttn-69
Sixth unwanted incident this year – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
