Professional Documents
Culture Documents
lZt,87-102
Prrnfedin
Gear Britain
87
Hospital,
Uppsala,
Sweden
most severe
88
INTRODUCTION
IN Swcdcn ;I <ommittcc for Disaster Mctlicinc
(KAMEDO)
ha hccn ~~t;d~lishcd since ll~OS. its
purpose king to collect information ;ritil cspcricncc of all kind5 of disaster:, all over tlic wilrld
;rnJ to nlitke the information
;tv;tilddc
to all
0rg;uiiz;itions
ciincsrncd with disaster mcclicinc
;ind to nil authorities
responsihlc
for disa~tcr
planning.
I was sent by KAMEDO
to the San Juan
Ixhuatepcc di~;I\tcr arca in or&r
to study the
following fcuturcs:
1. The scene of the disaster, including what
happen4
and the number ilnd types of casualtics.
2. The organiration
at the sccncof the disastsr. as rrg;u&
thr control. rcscuc. rekasc, triage
ad trirrlsport
of casualtics.
3. The organization at the hospitals dcsigmltd
for the handling of casudtics arising from the
disaster.
THE
SCENE
OF THE
DISASTER
hortlcrlinc of Mcsico <ity and the Stiltc of Mcxice. S;III Juanico hclongs to the municip;dity of
Tl;ilncp;mtl;i.
onto of the most intlu~triiili~crl
arcas
of the country with 2 gnat number of 1.K;
(Liquid
Pctrolcuni
(iii\. mainly :I misturc of
propane and but;mc) storage and rli~tribution
ccntrcs, t!spcciiillv in San Juxtico.
The inkihitants of Mexico City number dlout IS million.
of IOOlH)O. 4OOoU
of uhoni wcrc living in the immcdiatc arcit of the
di4atcr. The built-up iIre: of San Ju;rnico. which
was mostly affcctetl by the &astcr,
is situatd
south of the I.lYi facilities and with its horder\ at
it distance of about I?0 ni from the storage tailis
(Pig. I ). The ancient Sm Juanico villngc is Iocated in ;I small villlcy. 5 km in the cast-west
direction and 3 km xcrc)ss. Through
the valley
runs the Los Kcmcdios kivcr uxxl us ;I sewage
o\crllow dliinncl for the metropolitan ada.
fhr majority of the inhabitants of San Ju;mico
arc poor country people who went to Mexico
city in the hope of ;I hrightcr future. Their homes
arc mainly one-stormy houses constructed of concrctc pikirs filled in with bricks and with roofs of
iron sheets.
The lay-out of the LPG hulk storage and distribution tlcpot in San Juanico is given in Kg. 2.
amrson.
A LPG disaster
89
99
children
&+xi
[Under
the debris of the house the bodirs of
his wife Felisa, 30. and his four children. IO, 7, 4
and 2 yrars uld. wcrc discovered. In fhc next
house 3 family of ten had been killed.]
Recording
number
Intensity on the
Richter
Time
05h 44min
05h 46min
06h 15min
06 h 31 min
06h 47min
06h 49min
06h 54min
06h 59min
07hOlmin27s
52s
01s
53s
59s
56s
38s
29s
22s
scale
0.5
05
THE
COURSE
OF EVENTS
Approximately
I min after the lirst explosion one
of the Iarpcst explosions of the whole scque~~cc
occurred (OS h JO min OI s). lhc explosions Nos
7 ;wd 7 wcru nw~t likclv CIIICto rupture of the
&llcr
spheres and they-wcl-c ;il1 of the HLEVLI
lypc (Ijoiliiig
I.iquid I:xp:intlinp
Vapour Explosion). According to the Scismlc Service of the
Univcr5ity of Mexico. they had 211 iritcnsity ofO.5
on the liichtcr scale. Unburnctl
and burning gas
critcrcd ths hi~tlscs south 0f the pl;mt artil ilntl scl
fire to cvcrythiag.
13l;ist WilVCS from Ihc explosions dcslroyctl ;I number of housch and shift4
scvcral cylindrical
tilnks
from their supports
Distance range
Bullets
(no.)
End tubes
(no.)
bullet
Sphere
fragments
(no.)
On supports
In their original
bund
Within 100 m
100-200 m
200-300 m
300-400 m
400-700 m
700-l 000 m
1000-l 200 m
11
17
4
3
2
1
1
1
Total
44
3
4
3
2
1
1
1
6
6
7
1
5
15
25
91
gas
fmgmcnts of cylilltlritill
Ir;rgnwits gStctf spccilic
kinetic cncrpy ;is ;I result of the physktl
cxplokn.
lhis kin&c
cncrgy turticrl the fr;tgnwnts
into ntis\ila which wtrc attered
over considcr;ihlc
dist;incea (7irhle /I antI i;is.s. 3, 4 anti S).
f.orty-four
tx~lis from ;I total of 48 could hc
traced. Mod likely ti)ur tmks
were fragrncntcd
into mailer picccs. The maximum distance over
which ;I hulkt txnk tr;tvcllctl was 12t)om south of
the site (Fig. 5). This hullct tank dcstroyctl two
houscb from which the inhabitants
had already
left due to the intcnkc heat. The weight of this
tdlct tank (cmptv) was c;ricul;ttal to hr 30 tons.
The m;lximum &t;mcc
to which fragments of
sphcrcs wcrc found to travel was btbt)m north of
hdlcl
huge nunihcr
of
csplosion
(OS.40).
When
the
lir~hrigaclc
ilpplIKlCllCLl tllc site. the vikkgc WilS burning and
the lcmcx facilities wcrc coved
by tlamcs to
Due to
the height of &out 6(N) 111;llxwc ground.
the intcnsc hat the tire forces had to dop south
of the village. llalf of the lircmen st;lrtcd to
rescue the pcoplr running from the village with
their clothcs on lirc and the other half began to
fight the ncarcst burning houses and tried to
reach the Irmcx facilities from the south. The
hcilt was enormous. A huge number of frxgmcnts
of cylindrical bullet tanks and hphcrc fragments
wcrt sc;~ttcrcd all ovcr the plxcc. I louses collapsed. Black heavy smoke ;~ncl dust tklrkcnccl
the whole vdlcy. In these very dangerous and
dramatic circumstances the lirxt lirumcn on the
spot did heroic rtxuc work (Fig. 9). Only two of
them sustained thermal injuries.
In the mcantimc. tho highway patrols had been
alcrtd
and
they
implcni~ntctl
Opcr;ition
Acurson
A LPG disaster
93
Tab/e 111.The chronological sequence of events including the rescue efforts tn the San Juan Ixhuatepcc
dtsaster. 19 November 1984
05.00
Omin
05.10
30 min
05.35-05.40
05.44.52
05.45
05.46.01
lh
05.55
06.00
06.10
06.15
06.54.29
2h
07.00
3h
4h
08.00
09.00
5h
10.00
6h
-. 10h
-15h
11.00
15.30
20.00
Feeding with LPG of the four spherical storage tanks (volume 1600n?)
Pressure drop in the pipeline to Pemex. Leakage of LPG and a vapour cloud
flowing over the bund walls
The vapour cloud reaches the flare p11.200 m from the LPG leaking point, and is
ignited. A vapour cloud explosion (PUVCE) occurs followed by an extensive fire
at the plant area
Flrst explosion registered on the seismograph at the University of Mexico. A
BLEVE probably due to the first rupture of one of the four smaller spherical tanks
First telephone call to the fire station at Ecatepec, 3 km east of the disaster site
First major explosion (registered) probably due to BLEVE of two smaller
spherical tanks
First fire-fighting units from Ecatepec reach the San Juanico village
Police close roads
Various emergency services such as ambulances and rescue teams arrive
together with additional firebrigades
The Secretary for National Defence proclaimed the disaster DN-111-E Plan (an
earthquake plan) to be put into action
A second major explosion (registered), probably due to BLEVE of the fourth
small spherical tank
Panicking, caused especially by information via radio and TV from the area of
the disaster
All roads from San Juanico congested by refugees
Nearby hospitals overcrowded by patients. The Governor of the State of Mexico
arrives at the site
Most injured from the disaster have been taken care of and transported to a safe
place
Last registered explosion. Fire in San Juanico village extinguished
Fire within Pemex under control
Fire extinguished. Environmental sanitation. Removal of debris etc.
94
Volcano.
In conformity
with this operation
schcmc. cvcry highway that led to the diaastcr
;nxx W;I\ closed
to ;dI private traffic (0(x00 h).
untlcr control
had heen put
cue
tcams
gndcs
(F@.
IO
and policemen
and
I I).
arrived
on
v:irioir5
and
ild~fiti0ll;ll
the
spot.
rc\-
firchri-
lhc tire
given
for N;ltiond
Lkfcncc
f>rod;lim~~f the I>i\atcr l)N-I I I-I! lfi1tI to bc plot
into ;iction. This fkln is 0fxrr;itcd by the ilrrlly
;intf
At
00.
15
the
llscd
m;linlv
time
on
3s
;I ev;~St
Sccrctilry
an
;lnil
C;lrthcfllilkC
pl;lrl.
I:fonl
coinf~fcs lirclwigxfc
at
fkmts
in the
ccntrc.
whcrc
they
tricil
the
to
put
out
the
fire
on
the
hills
by
and
3f.00
south
rrniaining
all
fire
h.
of
IIIC
village
took
Ilight
highwily.
Avcnuc
lnsurgentcs Nortc. amI \urrountlin~
hills soon ;Iftcr
the q~lo.Gons ;uid lircs startcif. f hc lird rdugccs
tow;lrds
the
nearby
ILId ilfrGltly
;lrrivcd
at Oh. I5 h at Indies
subw;iy station situ;ltcil 2.5 kill ;lWilV I
villqc.
Ch;iotic sccnc~ iloniin;itcd and
no
orpni~cd
cv;lcuation
during
the
VcrJcs
from
the
thcrc
was
IirSt
Icw
IiourS.
At
OS.tH)
congcstcd
t11;lt
tc;mi
ilnd
at I.F..Ufh
out
According
ccntrcs
rcf)orts
alrout
the
from
hOtHNf
to makeshift
and
from
Jui~nk<) wcrc
S;m
rcfilgccs.
to
altogcthcr
ported
rods
h a11 the
by
of
;luthoriticS.
wcrc
sports
camps,
klsifica
the
cv;~cuccs
trans-
antI hcitlth
~iu;~tl;~lupc,
;I
rclicf
;intl 7000
pcoplc sfxnt the ni@
inside the prcmiscs of the
National Polytcchmc fnstitutc.
Most of this oft
triition WiIS organird
by voluntccrs. ~spccinlly
stutfcnt3. Mainly due to fxddicity in the ncwspaper reports. different
sorts of collections for
food. clothing ;mtf footwe;lr.
etc.
startctf
Within
a
few
hours.
The gocds wcrc clircctly transported
to the makeshift rclicf ccntres.
Approximately
3SW)
hot meals wcrc provi&d each tl;~y with an overall total of apfxoxiniately 17StMM).
ccntre
some
5 km
away.
fktwcen
StNfO
;incl
the first
site
of
hour.
tliS;lstcr
Transportation
Duriy
the lirst thy _W ccqscs wcrc found at the
cik id the iliastcr
(/*;S. II!). h&N of the hodics
\ccrc grcatlv
chart-cd xd
unrcco~iiiz~rl~lc.
Attcnq~s
at Sitlcntilication
were mark cithcr at
rhc site or Ixkzr itI :I spccial morruary near San
Juanico. lhc idcntilkxtion
work W;IS primarily
mxlc both hy an cxprf
in forensic mctlicinc and
by rcl;itiva.
A qkd;il
group con\iating of ;I
forensic palhologisl.
il prosecutor
and sanit;iry
pcrsonncl
\rt)rk williin
;iflcr
the
dkistcr.
96
Hospitals
of
pattents
Hosp.
No.
Hosp.
Hosp.
No.
Hosp.
thermal
injuries
to
inpatients
5 days after
the
disaster
Specral
burn beds
{IlO.)
Patients
admitted
Ino.)
32
175
67
32
48
20
20
32
175
88
70
60
28
40
37
64
40
23
5
5
5
5
3
2
3
2
.- 625
300
with
de Zona
General de Zona
57
Tacuba
General de Zona
58
lgmaris Zaragora
Total number
Illc tr;ttl\~~ort;ttit,rl
ol ptictih
\r.itli
hi-ii5
u;is
soniclimcs ni;itk rlircctlv to the lin;il dcstinalioti;
sc~tiictinics ;i1 lirst to ii l)rovision;ll
burn carc
Ixilil\
;incl later 10 ii hurii unit Ior spkdiml
c;irc. fhrcc ilab illlCF the ilisastcr Ihc 015 burn
paticrits were tlktributcd
at 12 iliffcrcnt hospitals
with gocxl burn fkilitics
(/k/)/t- IV). lhcsc hospitill! ilrC gcl~gr;lpllicilll~
hitu;itccl over ;I Idrgc
ilrC;l in ;I tlcnwly
i~optthtcd
pirt of Illcsiso City
with hmvy. ollcn co,n~cstcd. trdtic. Due 10 this it
was inyossiblc
to visit more than ;I few of them
\hithin ;I rc;~son;ihlc t&c.
In or&r
to get iin
ovcrvicw ofthe gcner;d stmclarcl of c;m at these
hospitals. I visitctl four of thcnl (ndicil
with
st;lr> in Iirhk IL). All thsbc hospit;lls
hxl :I
surprisin_cly iargc nurnhcr ol pcrsonncl. enough
spxc arid wcrc, in gcmml. well cquippxl.
All
burn piticnb
wsrc isikirctl cithcr in privq
ifi
I;lrgc room or ;~lonc in cubicdid
w:lrtls. The
gcncral trc;itmcnt
was ch;trxtcrizcil
by Wilrnl
hunimi care with ;ill kinds of conifort for the
piticnts. lhc reiativcs ucrc :illowcd to visit ;iI all
times anal any without rclxtivss hxl ;I close friend
at his klc helping him with kliiy prohlcms and
supporting
him in dilfcrcnl
W;I~S. Sornc of the
Arturson
A LPG
d~ssster
98
Table
W.
Boiling-liquid
expanding-vapour
explosions:
1951-84
Date
State/Country
Scene
7 July 1951
19 July 1955
29 July 1956
22 October 1965
8 January 1957
28 May 1959
4 January 1966
25 January 1969
21 June1970
19 October 1971
9 February 1972
Tewkesburv, Massachussetts,
USA
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Kingman, Arizona, USA
30 March 1972
5 July 1973
11 January
1974
12 February 1974
17 April 1974
2 December
1974
1 September 1975
31 August 1976
26 November
1976
6 February 1977
Belt, Montana,
20 February 1977
23 April 1977
19 May 1977
22 February 1978
11 July 1978
30 May 1978
16 May 1979
8 September
1979
5 January 1980
8 January 1980
Vlaardingen, Holland
Paxton, Texas, USA
3 March 1980
26 November
1980
1980
Oosterwolde,
13 July 1981
16 August 1981
1981
USA
Rotterdam, Holland
Erlecom, River Waal, Holland
Holland
Krcis Borken-Weseke.
Germany
Beunigen, Holland
Oldeholtpade, Wolvega,
Holland
USA
USA
Fatality/
injuries
-Ill
-I2
20132
12112
l/-12
18140
2133
-166
1150
2121
37153
13196
4/6
-125
--l
-I3
3128
-/l
-I22
--l
-I1
ll-11
16143
102/140
7110
-I2
-18
-I1
-I2
212
-/l
-12
-/l
-11
13117
99
Date
State/Country
Scene
21 June 1982
1982
23 July 1984
Grootbroek, Holland
Suez, Egypt
Romeoville and Lemont,
Illinois, USA
San Juanico, Mexico
19 November
1984
rapidly.
Fatality/
injuries
l/49
15l22
550/7000
DISCUSSION
Catastrophes caused by accidents in handling
dangerous goods have increased in number durinstance an earthquake.
ing the past few years (OECD. 1985). Out of 43
The Governor of the State of Mexico decided very severe industrial accidents during a IS-year
at this moment to appoint the State General period (IY70-8-t). 34 involved dangerous goods
Attorney to act as the executive coordinator in and 25 of these accidents were caused by noxious
assisting the civil population. When the Gover- or intlammable gases. The world consumption of
nor arrived at the disaster arca 4 h after the liquid petroleum gases has increased every year
accident hc commanded that the necessary meas- which is also reflcctcd in the statistics of accidents
ures be established according to five predetcr- (Tub/t* V).
mined criteria:
During the 15-year period IY5.%Y about 20
BLEVEs occurred causing 60 deaths and around
I, Assistance to the affcctcd population.
ltto severe thermal injuries. During the IS-year
2. Supply of material and economic support.
period lY70+
more than 30 BLEVEs occurred
3. Establishment of a public opinion and
with WH) deaths and 22tMjsevere burns. The most
affected population communication system.
serious of these accidents was the Los Alfaques
4. Adoption of sound measures to prevent
disaster in Spain in 197X, when a road tanker exsimilar catastrophes. and
ploded in a camping area and killed I02 people
5. Determination of responsibilities.
and caused I40 severe burns (Arturson. 19x1).
All these actions were set in a plan to be exWhat causes a BLEVE?
ecuted in a specific time-frame:
a, Immediate action, first 15 days after the In a BLEVE two events occur simultaneously
disaster. This action included temporary evacua- resulting in an enormous release of energy. If the
tion from the area, rescue and transportation of container is punctured or torn apart in pieces at
the injured to hospitals. prevention of epidemics the same time as the liquid in the container has a
(vaccination. fumigation, environmental sanitii- temperature over its boiling point at normal
tion, medical supplies, etc.), removal of debris, atmospheric pressure, a BLEVE occurs. Since all
removal of the dead and their identification, legal flammable gases are stored and transported
and funeral assistance for the bereaved.
under pressure, they can always contribute to a
b. Short-term action, lbY0 days after the dis- BLEVE. If the liquid is heated. for example by
aster, was aimed at totally restoring normal com- fire, it vaporizes. Mechanical causes can also
munity life. This action included environmental
underly a BLEVE. Collision or puncturing are
sanitation. distribution of canned food, recon- two such possible mechanical causes. Flammable
struction of the affected houses and urban infra- liquids not under pressure cannot cause a
structure.
BLEVE merely through collision. The container
This plan is operated by the army and includes a
broad coordination of different institutions of the
health sectors in case of a major disaster, for
100
disaster?
Arturson:
A LPG disaster
101
102
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges with thanks the help
Corrmpondcncr
given by Dr J. A. D. Settle in
English language in this article.
improving the
REFERENCES
Artur~~n G. (1981) The Los Alfaques Disaster: a
boiling-liquid expanding-vapour explosion. Burns 7,
233.
OEDC. Compendium, (1985).
Pietetsen C. M. and Huerta S. C. (1984) Analysis off/w
LPG Incident in San Juan Ixhuatepec, Mexico City.
19 November 1984. The Hague: TNO.
should br oddrcssrd fo: Dr G. Arturson. Burn Ccnlrc. University Hospital. Uppsda. Swcdcn.