Ignored Warnings: Explosion in St. Louis

A CSB safety video about the fatal explosion that occurred on April 3, 2017, at the Loy-Lange Box Company in St Louis, Missouri. The incident occurred when a severely corroded pressure vessel catastrophically failed, causing an explosion that launched the pressure vessel into a neighboring building. One worker and three members of the public were fatally injured.

[@davecool42]

I swear, the USCSB puts out some of the best and most important videos on KZbin. They are meticulously detailed, filled with interesting commentary, and absolutely compelling to watch. Thank you for making this content.

[@Tattlebot]

The organisation itself though seems rather toothless.

[@mercoid]

@@Tattlebot …. By design. It is their job to investigate, report and recommend solutions and practices. This information is then made available to the public and our mostly corrupt elected officials (of BOTH PARTIES!!) who deliberately neglect to act on the recommendations under instruction from their benefactors in the business community, usually through industry lobbyists, in exchange for campaign donations and financial kickbacks. That’s our system for ya. So when a politician says they’re saving / creating jobs in their state, part of what they’re saying is that they’ve loosened reasonable restrictions upon businesses enough that the business is now willing to locate there for the savings. Peoples lives be damned. It’s not USCSB’s fault. It’s ours for not holding our elected officials accountable.

[@sylviahacker6695]

@@Tattlebot - toothless, in what way?

[@johnkamoche829]

They really do. I love these videos too....

[@toter-drache]

@@sylviahacker6695, in some of these videos, it appears that the CSB, while their investigations into causes of accidents are exemplary, they don't appear to have any authority to order companies to implement procedures/guidelines they just make suggestions as to what's needed, I'm not clear on what authority if any, they have to be able to level fines to the companies that do not operate safely or outside of those guidelines the CSB suggested. Like the other guy said "toothless" is how they appear in these videos

[@kpstl26]

Life long St Louis resident here. This video is great but I believe it is worth mentioning that of the 4 people killed in this incident - one was the operator at the box company, and the other 3 were employees of the company across the street who had all just started their very first day of work there. 2 of them were a husband and wife who had just recently married. Such a tragic and preventable incident.

[@Tadrjbs]

One of the reasons we now get Chinese cardboard because lots of people get blown up at work In China with no problems...

[@pberPSR]

@@Tadrjbswtf! lol

[@SubvertTheState]

​​@@pberPSR It's kind of true. Industrial Owners understand 2 things. Money and Force. If they are not subjected to public and or government pressure to change their safety measures and business practices, they won't change anything. If they are subjected to heavy costs, they will alter whatever caused those costs. If it were not for those things, 8 year old boys would still be going into the mines and dying of black lung before their 21st birthday.

[@pberPSR]

@@SubvertTheState yeah. id agree with this. and this is what conservatism is all about. this is really what trump means by make america great again: no government control.

[@jemmabean]

​@pberPSR what they were talking about was unions and govt regulation

[@greglundberg9911]

As a retired boiler and pressure vessel inspector, it just makes me weep that proper maintenance, repairs and inspection isn’t done. These things can and do rupture.

[@lofasz_joska]

I've been working at so many companies who neglected maintenance and basic safety measures citing: "it's too costly".

[@1978garfield]

This is where I think education is a better strategy than just pushing for more regulations. If anyone who actually worked with the pressure vessel had understood the danger it would have been depressurized and taken out of service when it started leaking. You can see that regulation didn't help in this case. I suspect the company thought since the tank wasn't a boiler it didn't need inspected. The boiler inspector never said otherwise. Back to education the outfits that repair pressure vessels need to make sure their members understand that heads need to be replaced. Not patched and mended. That to me was the real missed opportunity here. The company didn't cheap out and tell their maintenance guy to "make do and mend". They hired an outfit that had all the proper certifications that regulations required and they totally screwed the pooch.

[@beyondEV]

@@1978garfield toothless regulation is no good. if you mandate the installation of a protective anode (anode corrodes and thereby protects the steel). If your system works perfectly, the anode doesn't corrode and needs no maintenance. If you do have some corrosion, instead of the pressure vessel having to be repaired, you simply can switch out the anode. and keeping a eye on a anode is far simpler.

[@monsterrodvonhugen]

Any company that installs a large pressure vessel without getting a permit or an inspection has made a choice to roll the dice with other people's lives. This isn't like installing a new light fixture in your home without pulling a permit. It's just reckless.

[@monsterrodvonhugen]

@@1978garfield ​ Any company that chooses to install a large pressure vessel without applying for a permit is knowingly doing something illegal that endangers others' lives. Nobody who works around this sort of equipment is unaware that it can explode. Management chose to proceed without a permit and avoid regular inspections to save a buck because it didn't care that it was endangering lives. If the company hadn't made that illegal choice, the regulations should have worked. This vessel should more have passed even a cursory inspection by an inspector qualifies by the National Board of Boiler & Pressure Vessel Inspectors. These dangers were known a century ago.

[@Bawwwllz]

As a boiler operator, this video hit especially close to home for me. Four people died because people (management) cut corners. This highlights to me why statewide pressure vessel regulatory bodies are so important.

[@jhoughjr1]

Someone messed with the boiler at my school. I can remember the entire 4 story building shaking with a loud roar. Supposedly my friend stopped the maintain guy from dousing the red hiot boiler. That likely wold have destroyed the whole block.

[@danwiens9830]

Sounds like it was in high fire and the low water cut off failed. That is why we have to test these safety devices daily. I have only had 1 safety device fail on me

[@hippiebits2071]

It's pretty disturbing that one never know what is really going on in the rather benign looking industrial building they pass or may work near everyday.

[@LilFaerl]

And the management should of course be charged with manslaughter and not allowed to be managing anything anymore.

[@SubvertTheState]

​@@danwiens9830and having a safety device fail should not be a huge deal as long as it's checked frequently and not left to be a failsafe only in an emergency. A lot of operators at many places I've worked have no interest in how or why mechanisms function the way that they do. I've always found that somewhat alarming, as when anything unexpected happens, they're completely useless in troubleshooting and fixing problems....Let alone closely observing operations and noting any abnormalities.

[@orion3253]

Thank you for the hard work you do to keep industry accountable and the public informed.

[@381delirius]

...and entertained 😁

[@atozzerotoninedude]

@@381delirius You bad man! 🤯

[@ParamMalhotra89]

Let's not forget to thank King Charles for appearing and being the spokersperson in this video. @1:00 Thank you, your majesty for taking your precious time to educate us peasants. All hail his royal highness.

[@flat-earther]

These videos promote Statism; using government guns to dictate how other people should live their lives; forcing some people's opinions on other people using government guns. Forcing those opinions on innocent people who have caused no harm to an other man, forcing them up to the point of killing people who don't obey, in the name of so called ''protecting'' people.

[@The-Cat]

just dont forget who decreased funding for these regulation agencies. Thank Maga land for that to be able to do their tax cuts for the 1%

[@deyjaacterius9610]

Two videos in as many months? The USCSB has been busy! Thank you for the work you do, especially public outreach and materials like these. These kinds of breakdowns help with process-oriented thinking, necessary redundancies, failsafe measures, capacity planning and tolerances, and much more. Much of it doesn’t directly translate to software design, but all of it is a source of wisdom that I get to draw on for my work because of the effort your team puts in. Thank you!!

[@brianfox7067]

People have been busy blowing themselves up

[@MLJenkins]

I agree, even working in IT I find a lot of value watching these videos. The incidents in other industries may be different, but learning how to mitigate them is very similar.

[@onion_____]

@@MLJenkins what

[@deyjaacterius9610]

@@onion_____ the way the USCSB breaks down every problem and the series of factors involved in each accident is great for thinking about failure points in systems. Even if the things you’re designing have nothing to do with heavy industry, if you’re responsible for designing systems it might help you build something more resilient. Just as an example, the number of times the USCSB has found something seemingly mundane that was overlooked and which eventually unalived someone makes me stop and think about things that I’d consider completely mundane. It’s a double-check when I might’ve otherwise cut a corner, or neglected documentation because “this isn’t going into prod, it’s just a test node”. Yeah that’s going into production lol, no time to refactor.

[@Breeder18]

@@deyjaacterius9610 couldn't agree with your comment more. The last bit reminded me of a good phrase: "There is nothing more permanent than a temporary fix"

[@andyrbush]

As a retired reliability engineer, I can say that the number of companies ignoring safety warnings is considerable. Usually sorting the issue is very simple and certainly much cheaper than the failures that occur. The Deep Water Horizon disaster was predicted, and even the kitchen staff were expecting an explosion sooner or later. Lots of the on board staff made out wills prior to the disaster it was that well known to be a risk.

[@bakoserino]

Yep company I just left was the same way. Thr just put a band-aid on it. Left before the explosion.

[@christophkogler6220]

It's so insane to me that companies want profit margins SO extreme that they're willing to destroy their own production capabilities - in the case of refineries especially, literally hundreds of millions of dollars of machinery destroyed and possibly permanent production halt along with possible pollution - instead of just spending the money annually on repairs and maintenance and proper training. I don't believe that they can't afford it, it's just pure short-sighted greed.

[@andyrbush]

@@christophkogler6220 The problem is too many toxic managers with no clue what they are doing.

[@TheTrueAdept]

@@christophkogler6220 largely because of the stockholders, really. They are the ones really in charge and they would rather have things burn down than have their RoIs not to be the extremes they are now.

[@etprecisionmachine2379]

I retired about a year ago and closed my machine shop. I always tried to make sure there were no hazards that I didn't recognize and deal with properly. But there are many things that a person doesn't even realize as being hazardous and folks rely on regulations and inspections to help us make sure we don't hurt or kill people. Pressure vessels are particularly problematic because they are quiet, don't move around, and so don't attract attention. But boy do they have lots of potential to cause great harm. Thank You so much for posting the many very informative videos.

[@ugotthicksinceuhadthatbaby4279]

Common sense should tell you though that a leak in a pressure vessel is a huge red flag. If I was the guy who saw that, I’d either shut the system down immediately or get the fuck out of the building and not return until it was properly fixed. Also fuck the St. Louis BoA.

[@88997799]

When I was a kid we had a old air compressor that ripped open at the bottom. It had lots of rust inside at long the bottom because it wasn’t drained properly. It lifted a old solid steel table with steel legs and steel wheels over 8 feet into the air and slammed it into the ceiling. Kids was in that area just minutes before it blew as it was building up pressure. Definitely would’ve killed somebody.

[@zenithperigee7442]

@@88997799 , that is such an excellent point to make with so many people having compressors as part of a business or at home in their garage BUT I wonder how many people think about the fact that millions of people in the U.S. alone have one or more "pressure vessels" in their homes and businesses - the water heater tank (of course there are tankless/instant WHs). What is really scary is just how many of them are sitting above their heads & full of water weighing hundreds to nearly a 1,000 lbs when full of water. It's obviously rare to happen but it does happen. I remember one instance where a water heater was launched into the air and across a highway... Of course that's the reason to keep an eye on your equipment, drain & maintain them properly. For water heaters draining at least once a year can help remove sediment AND checking the anode rod, replacing it as needed. It is after all the anode rod which "sacrifices" itself to help reduce the amount tank rust. Also check the temperature and pressure relief valve, that's why it's there to open in the event of excess temp/pressure so hopefully it doesn't become a "bomb/projectile"...

[@emmvee1678]

Shop in ny?

[@monsterrodvonhugen]

I'm always scared around any sealed vessel with pressurized gas or water above boiling. I have the advantage of working in a field where I sometimes deal with the aftermath of ruptured cylinders and tanks, but I think I've been nervous around them since studying chemistry in college or maybe even since learning to use an oxy-acetylene torch in art metal class in high school. Pressurized gasses can store a very dangerous amount of energy.

[@teststudent5091]

Always a duality when USCSB uploads. Love the animations and explanations that are both detailed and easy enough for the layman. Anger at the failure of protocol and lives lost. Thank you for these videos!

[@ltipst2962]

You posted the same time the video posted. You gotta watch the video or be the failed protocol! I'm calling the police.(but facts)

[@ArriEllieJelly]

I feel the same way

[@JayPersing]

This is a solid mood. Especially the pump station video where the mother went after her husband and orphaned thier kids. That one gutted me.

[@SadisticSenpai61]

Every regulation is paid for in blood. It's an unfortunate fact of our reality.

[@flat-earther]

The problem with government regulations is that they force them on people and people who don't obey their rules and have not caused harm to anyone get extorted, kidnapped and killed. Any law of government is enforced up to the point of killing people who don't obey. They kill innocent people in the name of so called ''protecting'' people. Statism is immoral. These videos promote Statism and dictating some people's opinion on other people by threat of force.

[@warmhandswarmheart]

Can you imagine saying goodbye to a family member as they go off to work at a non dangerous job and then later that day having a police officer tell you that they died from injuries sustained by being struck by equipment being flung by an explosion a block away. Can you imagine the shock of witnessing such a horrific event. Those poor people.

[@leftfinned]

that’s what I can’t stop thinking about….. you can be working a block away in a different industry and still be hurt/killed by someone else’s issue/accident. Sad.😢 and Scary 😮

[@LRRPFco52]

@@leftfinned They were filling out applications at a nearby Linen service when the almost 3000lb boiler came through the roof. One of them was pinned under it, and when EMS arrived 15 minutes later, it was still very hot. Imagine filling out your application, when a vessel that size just crashes through the roof, spewing steam, smashes a person and pins you underneath it.

[@leftfinned]

@@LRRPFco52 tragic and sad!!! 😞😢 I cant imagine..

[@drunkpaulocosta9301]

Nah i can't. *dusts off hands*

[@Ranger_k16]

The fact that this was all preventable just makes it that much worse

[@davidrosenlund7533]

As I've gotten older, I've noticed that preventative maintenance has gradually been made less of a priority. To the point that it's ignored till it breaks, and they just buy a new item. The Army taught me the value of Preventative maintenance and that lesson has served me well over the years.

[@starburst23]

I like how these are both "how it's made" with the context info, and "how it's not made," when it goes wrong. I often wonder what the manufacturing processes are around the stuff covered and these videos are great.

[@noconsent]

So unfortunate. The company cut corners to save time. Not only was there a mistake allowing corrosion in the tank, but they never properly repaired corrosion nor did they change start up sequences to prevent it from happening again. People are dead for no reason. Thanks CSB, your work is imperative to keep our work places safe.

[@jimmydelaware4323]

They should be criminally charged for never registering the pressure vessels.

[@LBTennis]

This happens at every factory across the world

[@interstellar0001]

Honestly, so many of the disasters could be avoided if the company in question stopped avoiding issues to save time/money.

[@CryptoRoast_0]

@@LBTennis every workplace in general. Not just factories. Prioritising profit will always put people at risk.

[@LBTennis]

@@CryptoRoast_0 Totally

[@djjudd566]

I like that the CSB chooses to highlight some of these smaller scale incidents, not just the massive industrial park examples, to show that tragedy can happen anywhere safety isn't a priority.

[@benjaminlee985]

I also like how they talk about what the factory produced. Something as ordinary as corrugated cardboard can still involve dangerous pressures or chemicals.

[@Armin2012]

@@benjaminlee985 heard a case of an employee at a Lays chips distribution center was crippled by an electrocution while operating a garage door. The button panel wasn’t properly insulated, and his finger was exposed to the electrical systems in the panel, which nearly killed him and rendered him disabled for life. The worst part is, the distribution center management refused to accommodate him in anyway to allow his continued employment. They refused to allow him any compensation to cover his medical costs, and he opted to sue the company. Following that, there is evidence of lays hiring private investigators to try and find evidence to contest him in court, to avoid paying him any compensation for the incident. This would involve these individuals photographing him and his family to create imagery that could be used against him (anything they could use to argue that he isn’t crippled, such as playing with his children or standing in a way that looks unhindered) I do not know what has become of this individual

[@naerbo19]

@@Armin2012 We had an accident were one of our welders started welding while standing in a small pool of water. The water had leaked from the roof of the factory into the welding cell. As far as I know, he is ok and back at work.

[@jansalomin]

@@naerbo19 I believe OSHA did a video about industrial accidents and included a welder who electrocuted themselves when welding a ship hull that partially flooded

[@dagamer667]

Even by the US standards, an accident with four fatalities is a bit above small scale. You know all those warnings under the car hood not open the radiator cap when hot? This video shows what happens when several hundred gallons of superheated water flash to steam the moment the pressure is released and instantly drops the boiling point back down to 212F.

[@opalishmoth8591]

As a government agency whose power is limited to writing a strongly worded letter to recommend change, I’m glad to see them take full advantage of social media. Change will come from public pressure. Awareness of potential danger will help prevent accidents- and not all methods of sharing information are equally effective. Few people will be inlined to read a highly technical report compared to the number that’ll watch a sub-20 minute KZbin video

[@emilyelizabethbuchanan998]

Needs upvotes

[@kne2323]

I remember my salty old engineering professor told me once that designing pressure vessels was serious business. Not simple at all! I've given them respect and a wide berth ever since.

[@thehellezell]

props as always to the animators, instructional designers, production team , etc who put so much into these videos. we see you!❤

[@untrust2033]

Facts

[@HassanAlibhai]

to add to this, shoutout to the narrator!

[@knijn]

I'm not sure. The added sound effects make this video seem like a Hollywood movie. CCTV cameras don't record sound and yet you hear a loud bang in the video. It's (almost) fake.

[@SuperMrBentley]

props to the loy lang company, otherwise we would not have such a good video xD

[@AllergicFungus]

No we don't. It's the American government. Nobody likes them.

[@schmiedingm]

I continue to be astonished by the quality of these analyses, keep up the amazing work!

[@johnbella2422]

This is why we have actuarial accountants and insurance professionals

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

Make one of these for the ammonia explosion at Anheuser Busch in 2006 in Cartersville, Ga. I've always been so curious about what went wrong but can't find anything about it. I love these videos so much!!

[@jasonshaze887]

I rarely stray from the usual content creators I watch, but every time I see USCSB, I know it's going to be a good video. Please never stop making these

[@jrcharney]

I'm glad that you brought this back up. The City of St. Louis has a new President in the Board of Aldermen. Three members who were part of the BoA at the time the CSB did their investigation have since been ousted after a pay-for-play scheme and are being sentenced for their abuse of power which had lead to much neglect from law enforcement to code and safety enforcement. This was a terribly tragic accident, and to know that the BoA could have done more to enforce code enforcement on industrial equipment but didn't do that is worth bringing up with the new BoA President and Mayor of St. Louis.

[@filanfyretracker]

I betcha if the city council did what was right regulations and inspection wise, the moment the rules were proposed to the board. you would see an onslaught of ads from pro-business groups claiming the city is trying to pass "job killing regulations".

[@jrcharney]

@Space Elf Downlink as opposed to PEOPLE-KILLING no regulations? Most of the people who died at this accident DIDN'T work there. So, to hell with those libertarian "regulations are killing jobs" d*ckheads! PEOPLE DIED!

[@filanfyretracker]

@@jrcharney the lobbyists don't care about lives. Same kind shit happens when cities who do not yet have such a requirement want to expand the requirement of automatic fire sprinklers to apartment towers. You would think Grenfell in the UK would have scared that stupid out of people but nope.

[@burlarbanton6027]

corruption kills!

[@markmossinghoff8185]

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss ". This has been going on for years and probably won't change any time soon.

[@nottherealpaulsmith]

If there is one thing the CSB has taught me, it's that every industry has its dangers, and those dangers can always be mitigated by good judgement and deliberate action. Thanks for making the country a safer place.

[@nottherealpaulsmith]

@Aluzky It's the eternal attitude of not wanting to cause a fuss, more than anything. The real problem is when the choice is "look like an ass in front of your manager" or "die horribly".

[@veramae4098]

... and this is where regulations come from. Every regulation is because industry had a problem it did not deal with.

[@eetuthereindeer6671]

Not just one country. This is available on youtube so safety can be improved all around the world

[@SueBobChicVid]

@@eetuthereindeer6671 But then where would we move the work to? When the price for every inch of cardboard goes through the roof (pun intended) people will care less about a once-in-a-lifetime accidental explosion.

[@philobetto5106]

If only CBS could expose the criminals in our gov

[@teamja1088]

As a dedicated safety rep for my organization I would like to say I enjoy this channel’s facts-based & lessons learned motif while providing accurate visual that enhance learning. Well done.

[@Crowald]

I found this channel by complete accident one morning when I fell asleep after starting a video, and when I woke up hours later one of the CSB's videos were playing. I laid in bed for the next 45 minutes and watched the whole thing after waking up, something that rarely happens. So much interesting documentation and info on the mechanisms at work that failed, and the mistakes made that led to each disaster. So cool. Love this channel.

[@Lukelins1]

Same I can’t even remember how I got to this channel. Complete accident

[@davida1hiwaaynet]

Thank you. From your videos; I always learn something which makes me a better engineer / technician. Please keep it up! The repair of the SCR bottom head is dumb-founding to me. The person doing such repair had no concept of that vessel continuing to be used beyond the few days following their repair; or they didn't care about the possible outcome of the failure of that repair.

[@ElectricGears]

The correct repair is to cur the entire head off and weld on a new one. I suspect the reason it wasn't done is that they would need to get a new head made to fit that exact diameter tank and that might not have been available. It's possible to make that dome shape with torches and a standard shop press from a flat plate, **but only up to a certain amount of curvature**. To make the full dome, the flat plate needs to be drawn in a press and that requires a giant press and drawing die set which is very, very expensive. It not something a local fabricator could. They would probably need to get it from the original manufacture and it's possible that was no longer an option.

[@crazycheme6260]

@@ElectricGearsAnd since it was a pressurized vessel, it likely would have also been needed to be tested again

[@flat-earther]

Hi davida1hiwaaynet I'm an anti-vaxxer, covid-19 denier and a flat-earther and I have a random suggestion, I suggest watch a 13 part series called _What on earth happened_ by Ewaranon to learn that the earth is not a globe. I got it in my about tab.

[@burlarbanton6027]

quick fix and cost saving as always resulted in huge loss. Management Problem!

[@delanorrosey4730]

@@ElectricGears I'd also hazard a guess that if he cut the entire head off, the pressure seal would be compromised and the vessel rendered unusable since welds won't be able to hold the pressure than that of the pressure seal. I wouldn't be surprised if the welder is as corrupt as everyone else in the wagon train of disaster. To him, what does he care? Hurry up, cut a disc off the vessel, fabricate a new one, weld it on, and leave . If it blows up, its Loy Lang's problem; they should've replaced it years ago.

[@nicktanski]

These videos and the work that the USCSB does is so important. I don't even know the first thing about chemistry, but (in addition to being informative) these videos have made me think a lot more about safety in my every day life and at my job (as an EMT). It's easy to forget how our modern life requires such immensely dangerous things to surround us constantly without us even knowing. People in the general public like me have no Earthly idea what goes on in places like these. All those poor people knew was that they were working a job not inherently dangerous in a perfectly normal office building. None of them had any clue there was a danger of a chunk of steel weighing hundreds of pounds randomly crashing through the roof and killing them. Even if they or the building owner had asked what the hell goes on in that building with pipes coming out of it, the answer of "cardboard factory" would have been of little help. When I hear "cardboard," nothing dangerous comes to mind; that sounds so mundane and safe. I wouldn't even give it a passing thought. We in the general public depend so much on safety standards to keep us safe from these things; it can be so infuriating when this responsibility is not taken seriously and somebody gets hurt or even killed in a preventable way such as this. These videos are a great way to bring more awareness to the amount of responsibility these safety and inspection personnel carry, and hopefully will make them more willing to rise to that challenge. We all depend on them.

[@ChadWSmith]

I lived in Saint Louis when this happened. It was crazy to hear that some random factory just exploded and parts landed a block away. I feel so bad for the victims' families. It is a tradegy that could have been prevented at MANY points beforehand.

[@PhillipDampier]

OMG… a holiday treat from USCSB. I don’t run or work at a factory, nor am I a regulator. But as a consumer and citizen, I feel better knowing the professionals at USCSB are working hard to keep everyone safe, and helping educate industry about how to create and maintain a safe working environment. I appreciate your hard work.

[@fanbutton]

Until you have work for one these manufacturing companies, you have no idea what they get away with.

[@debbiekerr3989]

@@fanbutton You're right about that.

[@leomurry8195]

The “fix” that left a rusted ring at the bottom of the pressure vessel is probably one of the dumbest stunts I’ve seen on this channel.

[@Jack-lb3ph]

Thank you, CSB. These videos are amazing, I watch them in my free time. The 3D renders are incredible, and even small details are included. As well, it's great that you all work to educate the public, as well as regulating authorities, on these issues. Fatalities in industry are almost always avoidable, and safety is always number 1. You can't meet production metrics if you're dead, as I like to say.

[@Decentralized_Maze]

USCSB: I'm from the EHS field, with the majority of the career in audits and field inspections. This video was a remarkable example of why proper and preventive measures are critical. Excellent video and worth the time for anyone to watch! Thank you.

[@lk29392]

I was surprised it wasn't recommended specifically that monitoring of dissolved oxygen levels in the pressure vessel and/or makeup tank should be considered. In my old life I was in the Navy working in the nuclear reactor department of the USS Theodore Roosevelt and there were very strict monitoring and chemistry controls to prevent corrosion in the steam generators, etc... I now work in the private industry in Process Measurement Analytics and quote many types of analytical solutions including dissolved oxygen analytical solutions for Chemical, Water, & O&G companies. Looking at Loy-Lang Box Company's setup they could have had a simple DO measurement in the makeup tank and a procedural step that the DO level had to be less than a certain amount before they were allowed to initiate fill of the pressure vessel. A $50K analytical solution could have saved them lives and lawsuits.

[@Wolfshead009]

Bu that would have required them to spend $50K. Too many companies view maintenance/upkeep as an expense to be trimmed as much as possible.

[@sandy_sd10]

@@Wolfshead009 so true and such a sad thing

[@oxnardmontalvo]

If you read the full report (here at www.csb.gov/loy-lange-box-company-pressure-vessel-explosion-/), they did measure DO periodically. That's how CSB knows that the oxygen scavengers were regularly low as stated in the video.

[@nevisstkitts8264]

Management knew they were out of spec on O2 and continued poor chemistry and process control. No amount of tech investment fixes willful neglect.

[@dev0random]

This is the paper industry. They won't spend 1k, yet alone 50k.

[@CybershamanX]

I just wanted to say that your VERY informative videos continue to improve as time goes on. I think these videos do an EXCELLENT job of educating the public on not just the obvious need and usefulness of the USCSB itself, but also how these accidents happen. These videos might go a long way toward helping to prevent future accidents by making workers more aware of how things work and what can possibly make equipment fail; especially in cases where it's not the fault of the equipment, but rather employee/employer/civil negligence. I hope you continue making these educational videos for quite some time to come! Take care and thanks again to everyone involved with making these informative videos available for public consumption! 😀☮

[@crbielert]

I hate to see these kind of accidents that didn't need to happen. Thanks for the high quality breakdown and production quality of this video, and thank you all the more for working to notify and teach so we can learn from and prevent tragedies like these in the future.

[@aj_jk1337]

29 CFR 1910 is almost 800 pages of 10 point font...and each one of those regulations is WRITTEN IN BLOOD. Like the stickers on the bathroom mirror at the mill "you are looking at the person most concerned with your personal safety"

[@dr3wrocks]

This is the only channel I have full notifications on for because they’re always fire

[@Joeychunk]

Literally always involves fire…😂

[@jacobmillyard6799]

I see what you did there

[@dsnodgrass4843]

I remember hearing about this very clearly, and being heartbroken for the operator who was killed. He was not unlike me, tho our jobs technically differ; and was probably doing what a manager with no risk-sense ordered him to. I watch water in my system very carefully, and use the oxygen scavenger chemical frequently every day.

[@fanbutton]

Managers...not even supervisors...would ever order a startup of something that had the potential to be faulty. That is left to the line leaders or the foreman. This way anyone in management can deny responsibility. The closest management will come to a startup is writing out the line schedule.

[@dsnodgrass4843]

@@fanbutton You would be stunned to know how often the case is otherwise. Managers like to throw their weight around on the technical level; and often demand shortcuts against safety protocols. If a failure happens, they'll blame everyone below them anyway.

[@gregorymalchuk272]

What oxygen scavenger chemical do you use?

[@FarmerDrew]

There is a phenomenal amount of graphic design and video production that goes into these videos and even the Foley sounds are great, thanks, keep it up!

[@filanfyretracker]

Mythbusters gave me a whole new respect for pressure vessels, And their water heater episode showed very clearly what happens when something full of hot water under pressure suddenly becomes not under pressure. Also do vessels like this not have a sacrificial anode? Our normal domestic water heater has a rod in it that is specifically designed to take a hit for the tank walls.

[@Travelinmatt1976]

The water heater episodes were awesome. Watching that water heater launch through 2 stories worth of house and the roof was amazing

[@bluesmoke8714]

Blevy

[@russlehman2070]

I wouldn't keep a water heater running once the tank starts leaking. And a water heater isn't a pressure vessel unless at least three things fail (normal thermostat, high temperature limit and relief valve).

[@shakarchi420]

Great question? As this was an exposed tank couldn't they just strap a block of zinc to the tank as the sacrificial "anode rod"?

[@shakarchi420]

@@russlehman2070 Not really 3 as the single device is both the temperature and pressure relief. Can't tell you how many people have no idea and plug it when it starts dripping. Even more so on hydronic boilers whose feed valves are passing....

[@cesardejeronimo8184]

USCSB could easily have 1M subscribers if they posted more often. These videos are always amazing.

[@AtilaCXL]

They are amazing videos, but unfortunately every video means someone has died :c

[@galliman123]

@@AtilaCXL Not always, the previous video on Philadelphia had no deaths and only very minor injuries

[@grant5227]

On the one hand, I'd love to see more of these videos. On the other hand, I'd really like them not to have anything to report on at all...

[@TheBanjoShowOfficial]

They don’t have those kinds of budgets

[@adolfilyichmarx9589]

This is a federal agency, I do not think it is very worried about subscriber count.

[@SarahMaywalt]

The words "leaking pressure vessel" should, in and of themselves, be enough to strike terror in the hearts of anyone who hears them.

[@ckm8508]

These animations just keep getting better and better. Love it

[@jacobdiller8140]

This is one of the most slept on channels on KZbin. Ive been watching these videos for years and I have no connection to any of this content professionally - theyre just interesting and well done.

[@bendafyddgillard]

Another good investigation, thank you. Amazing (but maybe also not _that_ surprising) that owners of equipment with steam under pressure still don't fully understand the hazard. Maybe they should be made to watch an hour of boiler explosion vids and slideshows of those pictures of trains with their innards on the outside, before they're allowed to own or profit from pressurised steam. RIP the four people who died in this accident. Hopefully the recommended changes are implemented and, more importantly, the culture improves.

[@saved217]

RIP ? Gods word says, there's no peace, for those not saved, by the blood of the lamb. Unless a man is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. John 3:3

[@bendafyddgillard]

@@saved217 The god of the bible is a story of a replacement father-figure invented by humans to fend off the existential dread of tiny ephemeral beings in a vast chaotic universe, and a shared story for cementing community. The god of the church is also a symbol of unquestionable authority used for assembling substantial worldly power and wealth for a few men, as the "Simon Says" game demonstrates.

[@saved217]

@@bendafyddgillard Your free to believe, whatever you want. (In some countries that is. ) I am also free, to say your wrong . Truth is. People don't want to believe, they will be punished for their sins. Hence they deny, the existence of God. A very foolish decision. Just like one is punished, for crimes against human laws,( which came from God) one is also punished, for crimes against God's laws. Jesus saves, Satan destroys.

[@bendafyddgillard]

@@saved217 this is trolling.

[@saved217]

@@bendafyddgillard Seems truth upsets you, which isn't my purpose. One must be prepared to die, at any second, in anyway. If not, many will not RIP.

[@cometasporelcielo]

Also, these videos are amazing. I both look forward to them and yet always hope that there won't be another one, because usually these videos mean that lives were lost or irreparably harmed. Great job to everyone on the production and analysis teams.

[@PanduPoluan]

USCSB never ceases to amaze me with their amazing, very instructive animation.

[@FerroequinologistofColorado]

While it’s a shame that people were fatally injured in this accident. It was preventable. It’s so aggravating that companies will keep running hardware when it is clearly not far from failure.

[@alistairmackintosh9412]

Faith based safety procedures....

[@bobroberts2581]

More a shame that the safety commission (CSB or otherwise) don’t actively close these places down and place an injunction on their occupancy/business permit. If the safety board doesn’t close them down, why would a business owner with a fiduciary responsibility to employees and share holders?

[@FerroequinologistofColorado]

@@bobroberts2581 I agree with shutting the facility down. But the shutdown should only be till they get fully compliant with all NFPA and USCSB regulations and if they don’t do that the business should remain closed till someone puts in the work to make the facility compliant and safe.

[@sakalaathletics]

Such good videos that show maintenance and inspections are vital. Thank you.

[@hmbpnz]

I am always very sketched out around any pressurized vessels. You all do a very important and critical job related to things invisible to most people. I always frown when I hear people yelling about "too many regulations". Here's a beautiful case for regulations. Four people needlessly killed.

[@Horseshoecrabwarrior]

I see why people complain about regulations in many situations, and here's what I say in reply. Some regulations can be tedious, others worthless and annoying. But. Safety regulations are written in blood. Safety regulations are most often written because the regulated situation probably has ended, nearly has ended, or is known to be entirely capable of ending someone's life.

[@johnpekkala6941]

SO true! At my work we have an air compressor + lot of shielding gas tanks for welding. The compressor operates at 7 to 7-5 bar and the shielding gas tanks are at 200 bar. All of these are potential bombs that could rip us all + the entire factory to shreds if they would rupture. While doing welding work you are also just within a metre of distance from one of these 200 bar tanks as it is attached to the welding machine next to you. Still I feel all safe around these pressure vessles cause they are regularly inspected and there are strict rules about those inspections to guarantee that these things remains safe so that me and my coworkers (and everyone else also using pressure vessels like this as both air compressors and shielding gas tanks are commonplace in any metal workshop) can continue feel safe around these pressure vessels despite the enormous amount of energy contained inside them..

[@megamaser]

It's more complicated than that. Yes, regulation is needed to ensure accountability, so negative externalities can be avoided. This requires proactive action to mitigate risk. This general idea should be obvious to anyone who takes the time to think about this carefully and without emotional biases. That being said, there is huge variability in the different approaches to enforce accountability. At the very least, you need the responsible parties to be penalized in cases like this. But even that is not always clear how to define. Financial responsibility is obvious. But do they go to prison? What about the inspector? And what about the city, how much blame can be deflected to the city? Even more difficult is figuring out how centralized inspections should be. Should it be a single national government entity that executes all inspections? Often the national government regulatory agencies lack specialized knowledge and they tend to enact arbitrary measures that are overly specific to popular events, may even be counterproductive, and they miss nuanced risks. But without government oversight, how can you rely on every individual negligent company to do their due diligence before it's too late? Could private inspection companies offer superior risk management in this context through specialized expertise and the gauntlet of market competition? Or are there too many conflicts of interest? What about conflicts of interest in centralized inspections through political lobbying and regulatory capture? These are the kinds of things that are actually worthy of debate. It's not just a switch you flip that turns regulation on or off. Most people realize you need proactive risk management with enforced accountability by government, but it's extremely complex to implement well.

[@1978garfield]

Pressure vessels and boilers were regulated when this happened. That didn't make any difference. An inspector stood next to the pressure vessel that would later explode and kill 4 and didn't even look at it.

[@phantomaviator1318]

@@johnpekkala6941 Hey, any update on your work? All is well?

[@thetallguy9068]

THANK GOD FOR ANOTHER USCSB VIDEO (i love your videos, especially the ones that go way into depth)

[@bostedtap8399]

Always breaks down to a simple problem, and ignored. Excellent presentation, sadly the event resulted in loss of life. Thank you for sharing.

[@jguy584]

Always so informative and helps me keep my eyes open at work for potential safety issues. These videos have taught me that there are usually signs that go ignored until someone ends up hurt or even dead. Thanks for the work you do.

[@BigDave4600]

These are some of the most interesting and informative videos on KZbin. Always worth watching.

[@fullraph]

For real! This is exactly how you get people interested in safety, not with boring power points.

[@piad2102]

Whenever it pops up that you msde a new video, i get excited. You do these videos so good. Thank you. And the narrator is top notch.

[@durkjenkins578]

Great video as always. Great animation, great narrator. Always informative and highly detailed. Keep it up USCSB.

[@ltipst2962]

Brilliant and simple animation as per. I cannot imagine being the families of those lost in the none related business.

[@artisanautobody3931]

These are so well done. I want to remain mindful of the safety issues in my own shop, but even armed with proper caution, complacency is still a problem, and hindsight is necessarily clearer than foresight.

[@dfdemt]

I LOVE the CSBs videos! The animation and narration are SO good. And they teach valuable lessons regarding safety and inspection. I wish that they would produce a DVD with all of their videos. I think people would buy it, thus raising money for the CSB and teaching people at the same time.

[@williamscoggin1509]

One of the ongoing problems as far as just about every city in the us. Is that the code enforcement department are severely undermanned. Just like growing cities such as in the Dallas area, there are so many Street projects, new houses being built, apartment complexes, commercial buildings, and Lord knows what else. And to inspect everything that is supposed to be looked at from wiring that is run it's a plumbing that is run to structural elements of these facilities, there is absolutely no way that the rules can be followed without at least trusting some of the maintenance people that you know pretty good.. and then you have the problem of things being replaced without whoever going down to City Hall and filing for a permit. If they don't do this no one even knows there has been changes to go inspect. Cities are required to inspect all of this workmanship as it is completed in each stage, but there is never ever ever enough money in the budget to have the number of personnel on staff to go look at all of these jobs. And nowadays with entire neighborhoods being built at once all over the place time is money and things get bypassed and there isn't really anything the city can do because of taxpayers getting so pissed off when their taxes go up to hire more people. This is something that needs to be fixed. Uncontrolled growth must not be allowed to happen at lightning speed pace.

[@Ink_25]

As a German, I'm astounded of the idea of a city making these laws and not a state or nation. Why should it be different one mile down the road? Why not apply the same laws statewide? What is the reason that this needs to have literally thousands of different rulesets just because you're in a different town?

[@cerealchild166]

Thank you uscsb for the excellent videos!! You put in a great deal of effort to make these videos both interesting and informative!!! Keep up the awesome work!!!!

[@xanderunderwoods3363]

Well I never thought I'd binge watch safety videos, but here I am. Simply incredible videos

[@BrendanPWard]

Very informative and engaging video. Excellent quality! Kudos for such a thorough investigation.

[@pauljoseph8338]

It’s amazing that these incredibly well crafted videos come out of a governmental organization. Well done to the CSB people who allocate the funds for these high quality video animation productions.

[@beeble2003]

Why is that amazing?

[@acceptablecasualty5319]

​@@beeble2003 Because the information on the incident is presented in a concise, accurate way without patronizing the viewership or compromising the message.

[@beeble2003]

@@acceptablecasualty5319 But why is that amazing?

[@acceptablecasualty5319]

@@beeble2003 because that's far from the quality governments usualyl deliver?

[@beeble2003]

@@acceptablecasualty5319 That's an ideology, not a truth.

[@mersilvaureus1525]

I *seriously* needed this today. Thank you USCSB. It's refreshing to see parts of the government doing good.

[@123s4m]

I never thought i would open YT and be Excited to watch a new Safety Video

[@dustingibson4087]

Big props to the animation and graphics department. Looks so good.

You should upload more often - these videos are perfect for awareness training.

[@StevenOBrien]

Cause an industrial accident to give them more material. Be the change you want to see in the world.

[@Taskforce1]

almost like that's the wholeeeee point of these videos 🤯

[@pabloescobar9337]

@@StevenOBrien I laughed too hard at this lmao

[@IstasPumaNevada]

@@StevenOBrien That was pretty good. :D

[@Rvincent24]

I watch these and the AOPA Air Safety Videos all the time. Never worked in a factory or flown a plane... no idea why I love these so much.

[@tylerp6375]

AOPA air safety vids are great and so are these. Awesome to know they reach a wider appreciative audience than the target pilots and engineers.

[@gabrielgalaxygh]

I seriously don't know why I'm addicted to these videos. I'll probably never be in any of these scenarios but damn is it interesting to learn how stuff catastrophically fails

[@Thurston86]

I was just randomly recommended this video by the algorithm and I am _ecstatic_ that I found this channel! I’m actually excited to watch the rest of their videos. 😂 You make great content USCSB!

[@cptnd3851]

sheldon is one of my favorite narrators in any form of media

[@XD9rottie]

I worked nearby when this happened. Thank you for doing this video

[@motohddk]

These are always so well done!

[@glitchy_weasel]

Happy to see that the channel has returned!

[@ilovepandas1246]

Factual, direct, high quality. It’s the CSB alright.

[@trashfire9641]

Man, imagine being that welder, assigned to check on the state of the pressure vessel that Monday. You are get to the office, or are on your way to the job site and you're informed of the catastrophic failure which resulted in loss of life. That welder must feel so blessed to have avoided an early death.

[@davestationuk7374]

It would have been shut down to weld Then the welder would have informed them the metal was too corroded

[@skeetrix5577]

I live in St Louis and remember this incident well. The building where the pressure vessel landed hit a room of workers on their first day of work. incredibly tragic but I'm glad the USCSB made a video on it

[@erickwidman3735]

I was the tech they tried to hire and the company was Faultless... they use the steam to clean pillows, wash rags and blankets....for hospitals... A Temp agency got me in that door and I asked details about the maintenance divisions budget and tools.... no money... no tools... I seen where this one was going.... if the boiler at faultless was bad... the surrounding businesses may have the same problem going on!

[@skeetrix5577]

ah I knew the other business had something to do with cleaning uniforms or something but I couldn't quite remember what it was called. man those temp agencies can be ruthless at times I'm glad your okay and weren't involved. I honestly still can't wrap my head around the whole thing, can you just imagine the shitty odds one was dealt to be killed by a massive hunk of metal crashing down through the ceiling onto you, from a entity down the street! it was like the old police chiefs wife being killed on forest park Pkwy when a slab of concrete fell onto her from a accident above and crushed her and the car. strange one off incidents seem to happen with particular regularly these days, around here. stay safe

[@deejkdeejk]

there is an outrageous amount of information on these videos, I love it

[@electrohustler3621]

The quality gets better and better! I learn quite a bit from each video and I take these lessons back to our plant and our employees.

[@TruckFan542]

These animations should be aired on TV, that’s how good they are. I just put this channel’s notifications to “all”.

[@Studio23Media]

Thank you to the CSB for another informative video, and helping keep our country more safe.

[@iphonewalkthroughs]

Wow this was really well made. I absolutely love the narrator

[@aidanrts]

The best produced videos on this entire site and we get them for free I can't believe it

[@asherburn4322]

Keep it up, your videos are extremely informative and well made

[@billhillyer334]

Thank you for the heads up

[@ithacacomments4811]

My son has worked in automotive parts manufacturing for 25 years. I pray daily for his safety.

[@pinktooth5473]

I’m disgusted at how excited I get for new USCSB videos. Respects to those effected but I love these reviews …. Stay safe, friends, uscsb . It’s a dangerous world out there.

[@ckuethe]

New CSB video! Christmas came early!

[@davidcox3076]

Thank you for this video. I read about the accident and investigation in the local paper. It was a ticking time bomb. Not just the companies, but the general public, needs to be reminded that pressure vessels have to be properly maintained.

[@edsalinas9996]

Unfortunately, this type of complacency is everywhere. I've worked in plenty of places where the Managers are too busy with their faces in their computers, and not walking the floor, or yards looking for potential hazards. I've also noticed the problems go easily Ignored.

[@Lady_boom_hypoxia]

Let's all admit we're addicted to these videos

[@afterhoursfab]

When I get a notification from USCSB, I stop work and take a late lunch 🇺🇲

[@SJR_Media_Group]

*_I used to work at a major Corrugated Box Plant. There were 2 things I had great respect for:_* High Pressure Steam Boiler: Used in Fluting, Heating, and Drying processes. I forget what PSI and how Hot but it was substantial. Maybe 400 - 500 degrees and hundreds of PSI pressure. Boiler was large and was located in it's own specialized room. Even in the dead of winter, the boiler room was hot and noisy. It ran on Natural Gas, plus there was a large external tank with Diesel as a backup energy source. Boiler ran 24/7, but was shut down after C Shift on Friday or Saturday depending on work volume. Boiler was re-started Sunday by C Shift. Pretty sure Boiler was kept hot, just not super-heated. Caustic Soda: Used to make adhesive for gluing different layers together. It was delivered by tanker and transferred from tanker to inside non-corrosive semi-transparent plastic tank via a small opening in wall. The tank itself was in a dedicated room and had a low 2 foot curb to contain any leaks from tank. It was large enough to contain all contents of tank and it had a special epoxy paint to protect the concrete from corrosion if there was a leak. The Caustic Soda was concentrated and could dissolve human flesh in seconds. We depended on high pressure steam heat and caustic soda. Without them, we couldn't make corrugated cardboard. If we couldn't make corrugated cardboard, we couldn't make cardboard boxes either. Company was very responsible in regards to Preventive Maintenance. There were no incidents during the years I worked there.

[@kenji3419]

i just recently start work in chemical industries, and i like how your viedos show that daily inspections by field operator's are important. Always had in mind that every transmiter, every valve, every measuring device can fail and control room won't save you. Keep your eye's ( and ear's ) open

[@chsovi7164]

honestly stuff like this makes me think that anyone who lives or works in the potential blast radius of potentially dangerous facilities should have a right to know about the risks and actions taken by the company to mitigate those risks. No one should be living next to a ticking time bomb without knowing or being able to do something about it. It would be great if all the people who could potentially be affected by a safety incident were able to pressure the company with poor safety culture into improving, especially as outsiders don't run the risk of being fired for doing so.

[@SVSky]

Part of the reason why you have zoning laws.

[@stephanzielinski7922]

It'd be nice. In practice, jurisdictions desperate for industry--Texas comes to mind--try to attract it with lax regulations.

[@ytsm]

Another excellent production and I hope your efforts contributed towards criminal charges being brought against Loy Lainge.

[@rs-ehsacademy4243]

Great work towards learning from past accidents to stop recurrence by sharing knowledge

[@ZeddZeeee]

always hyped for a new USCSB vid! keep it up!

[@465maltbie]

it is a shame that I look forward to these videos. Each one usually ends up in a tragedy, but I feel we learn so much more from this format than I ever did from the OSHA briefs. Charles

[@MayaPosch]

It always seems like a good idea to skimp on maintenance until stuff goes boom and your business has to file for bankruptcy. RIP those who died due to this willful neglect.