top ten accidents and metal smelting
number ten
slag explosions slag or metal waste is
the waste material after or purification
that will not be used in the metal
processing though there has been a
progress in recycling this waste
material in the last years a significant
portion of it is still stored as dump in
special containers placed in big holes
on the ground at least 24 hours are
needed for slag to become solid and be
disposed up
we must point out that after that time
waste is still red hot a problem from
this action could be when due to several
factors when metal impurities mix with
water for instance a big explosion can
occur in addition just a little amount
of liquid is enough to start
deflagration slag also brings other
hazards to workers they are less visible
though in some occasions they emit toxic
gases that could be lethal if workers do
not have the proper protection electric
arc furnaces the electric arc furnaces
have been substituting traditional
furnaces and many steel plants worldwide
the main reason for this substitution is
their high effectiveness when producing
metal from ore for example and more
advanced workshops these types of
furnaces may produce up to 80 metric
tons of liquid steel in just 60 minutes
of functioning to heat steel an electric
current going from one electrode to
another is used despite the fact that
these types of furnaces are considered
much safer than the former ones they are
not free from risk they must be cooled
with water and any little mistake when
introducing the electrodes into them or
any rest of the moisture on them could
produce an explosion this is what seems
to happen in the video when it is very
hot
we can hear small explosions and they
continue to increase until a bigger
explosion occurs another explanation for
this explosion may be
any mechanical human error when
introducing electrodes that have been
overheated or that generates sparks in
arc furnaces for cast steel electrodes
are put into on top of the tank and it
is not always easy to do it properly on
the other hand accidents like the one in
this video can occur in this case the
problem may be caused by the amount of
slag in the furnace this material
behaves similarly to volcanic lava
flames are spread everywhere and in the
end all content is spread all over the
place number eight explosion in the
boiler boilers are very important in the
metal industry they are defined as
closed pressure vessel where a fluid is
heated by applying the resulting heat
externally there are diverse types of
boilers with a different characteristics
depending on their structure and way of
functioning in general they are elements
that involve several safety measures but
when they fail serious accidents may
occur the most serious accidents can
produce dangerous explosions one of the
main causes of these explosions is the
low level of water that's needed to cool
the boiler the overheating of the
structure causes deflagration
and a subsequent disaster all boilers
must have at least two indicators for
water levels accidents are normally
produced by human error and the
maintenance of this device another
possible cause for accidents is the
corrosion of the material they are built
with and of course when water is mixed
with a boiler content number 7 one of
the hazards to be considered in the
metal industry is fire fire increases
the possibilities for accidents to occur
there are several causes for a fire to
be started in these factories the first
cost to be considered a static
electricity
this is originated by surface friction
and it can be accumulated until it
begins to produce sparks that will start
the fire another cause of these accident
is heat generation by machines the
flammable liquid and the liquids used
for cooling these machines may be a
cause for these accidents we can also
point out as causes of fire are the
overheating of electricity conducting
cables and the spontaneous combustion of
chemical products produced by high
temperatures that are usually common in
these factories experts also emphasize
the use of oils to lubricate or cool the
machines these oils are in many
occasions they're responsible for the
start of fires they also contribute with
their fast spread and very dangerous
toxic smoke number 6 moisture water
entry or just simple moisture in the
boiler can produce very dangerous
explosions that could put at risk the
workers integrity in the metal industry
liquid steel can reach 1500 degrees
Celsius and when water makes contact
with it everything put together can
explode it is important to know that
water boils at 100 degrees Celsius
therefore when water is mixed with the
metallic material it starts to boil
violently it is important to bridge the
gap as when a drop of water falls onto
boiling oil but considering that water
expands one 1,700 times when it
transforms into steam though this causes
explosions and closed spaces this effect
can be seen perfectly in this video the
liquid has entered the boiler and it
blows up violently it is about accidents
that often occur an autumn and winter
where there is more moisture in the
environment besides this water can enter
into the boiler accidentally by a break
in it
similarily these accidents are likely to
happen when the machine has not been pre
fitted properly number 5
dumping and slack we cannot consider the
slag dumping as an accident but the
consequences of this action can be very
negative slag or waste originated from
ore smelting to purify metals it is
about waste residues of this process and
it is a mixture of metallic oxides in
some occasions
it also contains metal sulfides at
present slag storage and later treatment
is assessed most of it can be reused for
diverse commercial use while another
part is dumped in special areas the
problem arises when some industries
located in countries that are
disrespectful with the environment
dumped these wastes into the natural
areas or one by any accident they end up
out of the dumping grounds causing
damage to soil and rivers as it happened
in Hungary on the other hand according
to ecologists even though the slag is
dumped and authorized areas it always
causes high pollution reaching fields
and water that are far away from the
area it was dumped number forms steel
casting ladle break broadly speaking the
steel casting ladle is a tool used in
the metal refining and casting it is
used to transport and pour the red-hot
metal they are made of steel and have a
refractory lining to withstand high
temperatures lately it has become a
metallurgic reactor this has obviously
expanded not only their capacity but
increase the possibility for accidents
to occur as you see in this video the
workers driving the crane made a mistake
that fortunately did not cause damage
moreover when pouring the metal cast the
ladle adjustment to make bail and
accidents may occur this happened in
hwacha pato where an explosion took
place to finish it it is important to
point out that sometimes there may be
mechanic failures in the steel casting
ladles due to poor maintenance in the
fireproof
lining high temperatures of metals may
damage the ladle when the cast metal is
poured into it
and those events workers are exposed to
high risk as dangerous fires can
suddenly be started number three
molten metal splashes one of the most
common risks and metal smelting are the
splashes of molten metal it is in fact
one of the points for risk prevention
this is because of the relative
frequency of an event like that it also
may bring very serious consequences for
workers as an example iron and
derivative alloys such as steel can
reach a melting temperature of about
1700 degrees Celsius one of the causes
often pointed out by the experts is the
electrolytic reduction this is a method
to eliminate oxygen from metallic oxides
through electrolysis this method may
originate small explosions obviously a
splash at that high of a temperature can
cause serious injury that's why the
selection of fabric to make the
protective suits it is very important as
these suits could protect and save lives
number two eruptions and metal casting
centers the steel smelting activities
are riskier than other industrial
activities one of the causes is in fact
the high possibility for explosions to
occur a very risky event is the metal
casting process this process consists of
pouring this melted metal into a cast
for it to become solid one of the causes
in this process for an explosion to
occur is water and any component
involved in the process for instance
rest of water and the sand used to make
temporary casts additionally casts must
be preheated to avoid any hazard if
there is liquid in any of the other
pieces this could also cause a
deflagration there is a common saying
known by the workers of the steel
smelting activities this saying warns
too hot to touch it is wet number one
fire loops or Cabo in spite of its
showing us this kind of accident can be
lethal for workers who are near the
temperature this kind of molten metal
loops is extremely high these loops are
capable of causing very serious injuries
to anyone who has reached or touched by
them it could be said that these loops
are sort of a spill of this melted metal
this phenomenon happens when metal is
heated and it is put onto rollers to
change its shape and send it to a
conveyor machine as a result of a timing
error in the process the metal is
ejected at a very high speed from its
way in the rollers it is necessary to
take into account that these rollers
leave less room among them the way the
process is in progress this is why they
get this strange shape and fall forming
burning circles we can see an example in
this Factory in Poland we can see
perfectly the moment when the metal is
shot out from the rollers and forms a
big ring of molten metal fortunately
there are not workers nearby when this
happens as there are no protective suits
to resist the high temperature of these
loops
