ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

German reporter Thomas Schulte-Marxloh on accidents caused by chemical reactions.

Chemicals like humans can react unexpectedly, in particular when mingled. Sometimes even professionals seem to be unaware regarding the dangers of chemicals in cleansing agents, their safe storage and use. New accidents every year, from chemical burns to explosions, are the consequences of careless use of chemicals.

This year, for instance, a seven-year-old girl was taken to hospital after pouring several cleansing chemicals in a watering pot and drinking the mixture. The chemicals, carelessly stored in boxes in the living-room, came from household clearances the girl’s mother carried out.

The mother’s thoughtless behaviour seems to be a typical example of non-professional handling of chemicals. Amazingly, despite respective warning notices on every detergent label, inappropriate storage or disposal of detergents still cause serious accidents.

In order to clean a clogged urinal a janitor in Berlin applied an alkaline tube cleaner, however it did not work. So he called a professional tube cleaning company but did not mention his former attempts to solve the problem. After the workman applied sulphuric acid a chemical reaction with the tube cleaning agent triggered an acid eruption. The workman suffered from chemical burns of his hands and breathing problems, the fire brigade registered an increased level of dangerous hydrogen sulphide.

Another acid accident happened when an employee in a packaging material factory poured a detergent into a bucket where it reacted with remains of acid. The reaction caused fire in the bucket and a lot of reddish smoke which spread into the factory hall. The employees were evacuated and the fire brigade was called.

On the premises of a sausage producer chlorine gas occurred after a detergent and a disincentive agent were used successively in a refrigerated warehouse. Again, staff had to be evacuated. As a precaution one employee was taken to hospital and contaminated products had to be disposed of.

In a cafe located in a busy street of Frankfurt, a heavy explosion caused four people to be injured, two of them severely. According to the fire brigade in charge, the explosion was triggered by a flammable detergent in a spray can which most likely reacted with remains of another detergent or fragrance which was used before.

The explosion at an natural gas storage facility in Berlin, investigators found out, was caused by a new cleansing method which was deployed for the first time. A clogged filter, 900 meters below street level, was cleaned with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The gas was injected under pressure into the borehole and returned into a respective tanker. In the borehole a part of the hydrogen peroxide changed into oxygen (O2) which created a highly explosive mixture with the natural gas.

It is still unknown why a spark occurred which triggered the explosion. Unfortunately it is also still not clear who in the end is responsible - all parties involved point to each other: the building owner, the cleaning company and the local authorities who approved the innovative method.

Chemicals and detergents are still integral parts of the contract cleaning industry; luckily, due to professional training most employees are well aware of the dangers.