Episode 81 - Incident Breakdown: 2020 Fatal Explosion and Fire at Watson Grinding Facility

Amplify Your Process Safety

In this episode, Molly and Jo discuss the CSB's final investigation report on the 2020 fatal explosion and fire at the Watson Grinding facility in Houston, Texas. On January 24, 2020, a propylene release in a coating booth at the facility resulted in a fire and explosion that killed two workers and one nearby resident, injured two workers, and damaged over 450 nearby structures. Today, Molly and Jo provide some background information on the facility, including previous incidents, precautions in place at the time of the incident, and contributing factors. Then they delve into how various elements of a process safety program could have helped to prevent this incident, discuss the CSB's recommendations, and end with three key learnings that facilities can learn from this incident.

Find the CSB's final report for this incident ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

Related episodes we mentioned: Your Process Safety Journey, Part 1 - The Foothills Your Process Safety Journey, Part 2 - Climbing The Mountain

Your Process Safety Journey, Part 3 - Nearing the Summit

Episode 52 - EPA's General Duty Clause with Guest Mathew Todaro

Episode 56 - Implementing EPA's General Duty Clause (GDC)