Gasoline barrel explodes

The main process of the accident:

A certain unit in a certain place brought an empty barrel that had once contained gasoline in a car. Without any formalities, they directly found gas welder A and asked him to separate the empty barrel from the middle. At that time, A asked to clean it before cutting, so two soldiers took the barrel away. An hour later, the soldiers brought the barrel back and told welder A to "clean it twice with two kilograms of alkali and hot water, and then wash it twice with clean water." So welder A opened the lid of the barrel, placed it horizontally on the ground, and stood at one end of the barrel to cut. As soon as he cut a small hole, the barrel exploded, and welder A's legs were shattered.

The main cause of the accident:

(1) The gasoline barrel was not cleaned thoroughly enough, and there was still residual gasoline and its vapor in the barrel. The cutting flame ignited the gasoline in the barrel and caused the explosion; (2) The barrel was not subjected to gas analysis after cleaning, and the cutting was done blindly, causing the accident.

Main preventive measures:

(1) Before welding or cutting fuel containers, they must be strictly cleaned, replaced, and handled safely. Gas analysis and testing must be passed before welding or cutting.

(2) When welding or cutting empty fuel drums, the lid should be opened and the drum should be placed horizontally on the ground. The operator should stand on the side of the drum and operate with the drum lid on the side to prevent the drum cover from blowing off and injuring people in case of explosion.