Dec 12, 1999 - 09:44 PM

Nitric Acid Vapor Fills Russian Plant Workshop, 109 Injured The Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) - A workshop at a metallurgical plant in the Urals filled with nitric acid vapor early Sunday, injuring more than 100 workers, Russian officials said. The accident occurred in the titanium-processing workshop at a plant in Verkhnye Soldy, about 900 miles east of Moscow, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The electricity supply to the workshop failed and an uncontrollable chemical reaction resulted, the ministry said. Both the ventilation and emergency systems shut down and no backup generator started up.

A total of 109 overnight shift workers suffered burns to their upper respiratory tracts, Konstantin Zhilyakov, the deputy director of the regional medical trauma center, told Russia's NTV television. Four were in critical condition, he said. The Emergency Situations Ministry said seven of the injured workers remained hospitalized late Sunday.

It was not clear what caused the plant's electricity supply to fail.

AP-ES-12-12-99 2141EST ) Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Brought to you by the Tampa Bay Online Network

-- Jack (mercer@usa.net), December 12, 1999

Answers

Koski and Flint eagerly adding this to their counts of what fails without Y2k....

-- W (me@home.now), December 12, 1999.

According to Senator Bennett on CNN yesterday (Sat.)

"Nothing will work in Russia after Y2K, but then does anything work there now" (paraphrased)

I still cant believe what I hear from our politicians. I swear its like we live in a country that has two citizens. John Q. Public and Government workers. No offense intended!

-- d----- (dciinc@aol.com), December 12, 1999.

Mercy, Jesus, if this is true.

-- Believe In More Than Me (churchfanhand@waving.com), December 12, 1999.

2/12/99 -- 9:45 PM

Nitric Acid Vapor Fills Russian Plant Workshop, 109 Injured

MOSCOW (AP) - A workshop at a metallurgical plant in the Urals filled with nitric acid vapor early Sunday, injuring more than 100 workers, Russian officials said.

The accident occurred in the titanium-processing workshop at a plant in Verkhnye Soldy, about 900 miles east of Moscow, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The electricity supply to the workshop failed and an uncontrollable chemical reaction resulted, the ministry said. Both the ventilation and emergency systems shut down and no backup generator started up.

A total of 109 overnight shift workers suffered burns to their upper respiratory tracts, Konstantin Zhilyakov, the deputy director of the regional medical trauma center, told Russia's NTV television. Four were in critical condition, he said. The Emergency Situations Ministry said seven of the injured workers remained hospitalized late Sunday.

It was not clear what caused the plant's electricity supply to fail.
--------------------------

-- example (example@example.example), December 12, 1999.

Let me get the jump on the pollies here...

Yes, we cannot know what caused the electricity failure, so it may not have been due to Y2K testing.

BUT- what if electricity fails in the new year? This remains a viable Y2K concern, don't you think?

-- (Kurt.Borzel@gems8.gov.bc.ca), December 12, 1999.

Add this to the list of chemical plant and refinery explosions posted below: "FACTORY, GENERATING PLANT, PIPELINE EXPLOSIONS AND FIRES." 30 or 40 thread down .....>>>>

>"<

-- SH (squirrel@huntr.com), December 13, 1999.

"It was not clear what caused the plant's electricity supply to fail."

One reason the electricity fails in Russia is because they don't pay there electric bill.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), December 13, 1999.