Developing the solution to fatal explosion which hit BASF

BASF Company has been in existence since its establishment in the year 1865 as indicated in the
article by Grades (2012). According to Crowl (2010), the company was started majorly to
produce chemicals which were in turn used in dye, soda and acid production. The firm was
situated on the side of Rhine River, Ludwigshafen. The place where the company was situated
could not support safety living due to high incidences of air pollution from the chemical plant
(Grades, 2012). According to the article by Christianson (2010), the BASF has shown a negative
response to safety issues which led to the fatal chemical explosion. The explosion incidence
killed two fire fighters, badly injured six workers while two individuals went missing and could
not be traced. A round 17 individuals were hurt by the fire hence could not continue with their
daily activities (Crowl, 2010). Due to the lack of sound safety measures within the company, the
fire time took time to be brought into control, therefore, leading to an immense loss to the
company and the community. The project, therefore, tends to examine the best solution for the
fatal explosion that hit the company. In order to ensure proper achievement of the suggested
ways to solve the explosion problem that happened in BASF, the project focuses on the missing
information from the previous researches and the sound solutions for the problems. The project
also takes into consideration the question, equipment, and software to use as well as the expected
results upon laying down the measures to deal with the fatal explosion witnessed in the company.
Reasons for having interest in developing the solution to a fatal explosion which hit BASF
Having an interest in developing the solution for the explosion which took place in BASF
Company will provide the ground under which the safety practices can be embraced at all cost. It
is the responsibility of the company to ensure that any potential risks that may cause death or

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injury to workers or any other person in the company are minimized to the extent possible. The
burden of losing life cannot be compared to the cost incurred in laying down the safety
procedures that help in minimizing the cases of fire explosion. Developing the solution for the
explosion which helps in the comfortable working environment within the company will,
therefore, enhance the safety of the working environment.
It will provide assurance to safety for all the workers depending on BASF Company as a
means of getting their daily income. The risks such as chemical explosion and the fire may create
trauma among the members of the family in case their loved ones fail to come back home in a
complete state of health. The reduced incidences of fatal occurrences within the company
mitigate the unnecessary harms which can contribute to the inability to carry out the daily
activities of the family. Proving the solution to the fatal explosion will, therefore, provide the
assurance to the members of the community residing near the company, workers as well as the
family members on the harm free nature of the environment. It will, therefore, remove the doubt
among the family members whether their care givers may come back home with some injuries or
while dead as a result of the company hazards.
Coming up with the solution for the fatal solution will lead to the introduction of
measures which promote rapid response to hazards. Ideally, BASF fatal fire caused immense loss
and suffering of the victims to the fact that the fire fighters delayed in responding and bringing
the fire into control (Crowl, 2010). The occurrences of fire explosion from the chemical industry
may lead to a huge loss of property and life. Dea veloping the immediate response mechanisms
will, there to ensure that any possible losses are reduced to the extent possible. For effective and
immediate response in the event of fire outbreak within the company, the fire response staffs
should be trained and provided with facilities to enable them to respond promptly in case of any

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life threatening hazards within the company. It is worth noting that rapid response to hazardous
events means fewer effects associated with the events and better quality of life of the victims.
The measures to the problem will enlighten people on the preventive and protective
measures to undertake in the event of fire explosion in a company or any other place. The
victims of fire incidence have a key role to play in ensuring their own safety in the event of a fire
explosion. The solution measures will enable them to ttake necessary and relevant measures with
relying on the experts to direct them on what to do. Some of the measures which can help
prevent the victims from injury include; leaving the fire scene immediately they hear the sound
of an alarm, learning how to use the fire extinguishers, learning some dangers of possible fire
outbreak and measures to take and evacuation procedures. The measures will help in reducing
the risks associated with fire explosion within the company.
The aim of showing interest in developing the solution for the fatal explosion is to
prevent future death in the company due to lack of safety measures. Over 207 persons died due
to an explosion that took place in the company due to problems that could be solved through
prior interventions (Christianson, 2010). According to Seltenrich (2015), the death of the
individuals led to a shortage of employees for the company for continuous operation. Based on
the information gathered after the incidence, the explosion was as a result of the negligence of
the company management team to put some measures which could protect the workers from such
hazards. The fire emanates due to welding being done near the propylene pipe; the pipe ought to
have been sealed so as they cannot be affected with high temperatures. The project will,
therefore, provide the forum under which various components that could lead to risks within the
company can be identified and mitigation measures put in place to enhance the safety of workers

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and reduce the hazard associated deaths (Seltenrich, 2015). In summary, strong safety measures
within the company are the most important strategy for death reduction.
Applications of the project

The application of the project cannot be under rated. The investment in the project can
impact positively to the members of the society, the BASF Company as well as other companies
where safety is a matter of concern. The following areas may apply the concepts of the project
for better operation;
Company development- the development of the company takes into consideration the
available safety measures that have been put in place. According to Zhao, Joas, Abel, Marques,
& Suikkanen (2013), the availability of safety procedures reduces the expenditure on risk
management hence encouraging investment in the development of the company. Fire risks are a
threat to the development of the company due to property loss that results in its occurrence.
Laying down measures to prevent the incidences of fire reduces the risks that might impinge the
development progress of the company. It is therefore important to focus on seeking the solution
to safety problems as a means of promoting development within the company.
Reduction of records of work related accidents- due to the increased cases injuries in the
company associated with lack of safety in the company. The company was obliged to make a
routine report on any accident that takes place (Zhao, Joas, Abel, Marques, & Suikkanen, 2013).
The research will be used to monitor the changes in the reduction of hazardous occurrences in
the company and work place. The cases were reported after the implementation of the measures
can be compared to those cases being reported before to show whether the solution development

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has made some positive changes or not. The reduction in reported cases of hazard related
incidences can only be realized through effective implementation of safety measures.
To monitor the changes in work related stress; the project is looking forward to
addressing the operational activities within the company that could lead to mental problems and
in turn contribute to increased risk of fatal incidences. Generally, the employees within the
company might be overworked to the extent that they cannot detect any sign of dangers in the
company. This could lead to a few actions being taken hence increased the risk of fire explosion
as supported by the article by Srinivasan & Natarajan (2012). By implementing the safety
procedures through encouraging the work place, it is possible to show whether the work stress
could have the cause of negligence and high chances of work injuries. The project can, therefore,
be applied in measuring the health status of the workers through freeness from stress and work
performance improvement.
The project can be applied in promoting the effective use of tools within the company.
Inappropriate use of tools increases chances of fire hazards. It is therefore important to pay
attention to measures to enhance safety handling practices for the tools in order to reduce the
cases of accidents associated with poor handling practices for the machines and tools used in the
company (Srinivasan & Natarajan, 2012). According to Verboven (2011), implement appropriate
machinery and tools use can significantly improve the safety of the company hence leading to
reduced fire hazards. The detected changes in the incidences of fire explosion in the company
can be said to be attributed to proper and proper tools and machine handling practices. When the
research of the appropriate way to address the fatal explosion is by improving the tools handling
practices within the company, then the best solution will be to educate workers on how they can
use the tools well to reduce the cases of accidents within the company.

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The project can be applied in developing the disaster update system within the company.
The sign of the likelihood of occurrence of a disaster should be reported to the supervisor for
immediate action in order to prevent the occurrence of catastrophic incidence (Verboven, 2011).
The program aimed to preventing feature occurrence of fire explosion in the company will take
into consideration the measures to ensure regulation detection and reporting of the potential
hazards to the supervisor for immediate action. The project, therefore, provides the opportunity
for the employees to act as watch dogs when it comes to actions for improving the safety of the
company. The project can also be applied in improving the understanding of the supervisor while
working to promote the safety of the environment. The disaster update system helps in
appreciating the roles of company workers and the management team in ensuring the risk free
environment.
The project can be applied to recognize the importance of alert in the company. Most of
the fire incidence causes death and property loss since most of the companies do not have the
hazard warning and alert systems. The project will provide the opportunity for development of
stable alert systems as means of promoting the safety within the company. The warning and alert
can help to prepare the workers of the company on actions to take in case of fire outbreak.
According to De, Dogammau, & Ravella (2012), the majority of the individuals died during the
explosion in BASF Company due to lack of warning systems and disaster preparedness which
the project will address for the safety of the company. This, therefore, supports the reason as per
why explosion took place.
Formulation of safety legislations, the project will provide information will be used in the
development of policies and legislations that protect the company workers and the community
members from fire related hazards. According to Negovanović, Kričak, Milanović, Đokić, &

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Simić (2015), some of the policies that may be formulated based on the project include; the
policy on the safe handling of the machines and tools, policy on warning systems, policy on
emergency response systems and policy systematic response. On the same note, the legislations
that can be developed from the project findings and suggestions include; legislation on safety
regulation at the workplaces and company. The legislations require that any company observe
the safety procedures and protect the life of all the workers from the effects of the hazards.
Legislations, therefore, form the basis for the attainment of complete safety within the
organization.
The project can also be applied in improving the availability of the professionals within
the company. Reduced risks and injuries within the company minimize the incidences of injuries
and deaths within the company thereby leading to increased number of pundits (De, Dogammau,
& Ravella, 2012). The organization with improved safety practices also attracts many workers to
seek employment thereby increasing their number in the organization. The increased number of
workers within the organization can, therefore, be said to be as a result of measures to solve the
poor safety problems.

The information missing from the previous work done by others
Various researches have been carried to find out the factors that contributed to the fatal
explosion that hit BASF since the occurrence of the incidence (Negovanović, Kričak, Milanović,
Đokić, & Simić, 2015). The work of others tends to find out factors that could be associated with
the explosion in order to come up with a sound solution. The following information is missing in
the previous work by others;

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The work by others has not explained the additional mechanism that could have
contributed to fire other than the explosion of the chemical pipes and the interaction heat from
the point where the welding was carried out. The research has not provided the nature of
chemical reaction which took place during this incidence that contributed to the explosion and
production of fire which destroyed the proper and killed many people. It is therefore clear that a
lack of proper understanding of the nature chemical reaction that took place may make it
impossible to develop sound safety measures.
Most works by others only spell out the improvement that has taken place in the chemical
industry in terms of safety since the explosion of the incidences. However, the findings do not
consider the measures that were put in place that has contributed to such improvements. It is
important to understand the measures that have been employed by the companies to curb the fire
explosion in order to understand the strategy which worked best and the one which failed. The
project will, therefore, go further into examining the effects of each strategy put in place and the
one which worked best.
The experts have failed to provide the clear effects of the explosion to the company and
the community. The value of the property destroyed by the fire has not been spelt out clearly by
others publications. The findings only provide the estimation of the number of people who died
in the process, but the nature of the injury that resulted in their death has not been covered in the
works by others. On the same note, the works do not explain whether some people managed to
escape the fire so as to help come up with the means of building on the means of escapes applied
by the survivors.

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Also, the works by others only state that there existed some measures to ensure the safety
of the organization, but exact measures have not been identified by the researchers.
How the project is planned to be done/how the solution for the explosion will be developed
The aim of the project is to provide the solution to the safety problems that led to a fatal
explosion that hit BASF. The solution arrived at will go further to improve the quality of the
working environment in this company and enhance working relationship among the workers,
reduce security suspicion and cases of accident. The following actions will be undertaken in an
attempt to enhance the safety standards of the company and reduce the effects of an explosion;
Reviewing the safety issues affecting the company
This step involves identifying various measures that the company put to protect workers
from any form of injury and accident. The nature of protection provided by the company
management team, the safety policies available for the company and the role of leadership in
promoting the safety of the company, should be considered in order to identify the most
underpinning safety problems of the company.
On the same note, the set involved creating the culture of safety within the company by
identifying and notifying people on the potential risk and injuries in order for them to take
precautions. The safety culture takes into consideration measures improve the morale of workers
by empowering them to be able to identify and recognize the signs associated with the likelihood
of occurrence of an accident. This will help in reducing the safety problems within the company.
Considering the relevant policies suitable for the company in order to address the safety
issues

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The policies will be developed after reviewing the existing policies and identifying the
gaps that could have contributed to the explosion and developing those policies that will ensure
complete safety in the company. The aim of the policies is to changes the management practices
within the company that contribute to total safety and absence of accident issues within the
company.
Considering the leadership of the company
The leadership has an important contribution to matters associated with the safety of the
company. Supporting the nature of leadership within the company by reminding them to embrace
security measures with the intention of ensuring the safety within the workplace helps in
reducing hazards. It also involves encouraging the leaders of the company to take the leading
responsibility by using personal protective equipment appropriately as a sign of safety rules for
employees within the company. The leaders of the company are also required to implement the
relevant measures to ensure the working environment is free from any form of injury or accident.
Supporting and involving the employees in the quest to curb future explosion within the
company
The employees have a greater responsibility to play in ensuring there is no any feature
accidents within the company. They are therefore trained on how to ensure the safety within the
company through responding appropriately to issues that might affect the safety of the company.
The employees must be aware of events that may threaten the safety of the company and report
them appropriately.
Developing a checklist for the safety of the company

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Checklist act as the point of reference for the progress of the company on matters related
to safety. The safety checklist indicates whether the company is improving in terms of safety or
not in order to make an adjustment.

The questions, equipment, and software to use for the project
Some of the equipment that should be provided in order to ensure the safety of the
company included a well maintained fire extinguisher, gloves and asbestos suits for the fire
fighters. Some of the questions to consider include; has the company met all the requirements to
ensure complete safety? Is there any safety gap in the company? Is the company fit to promote
the wellbeing of workers? The software that can be applied includes; fire detection software and
software that alert people in the event of an explosion.
The expected results

The main intention of the project is to improve the safety of the company by laying down
measures to curb future explosion. The project is looking forward to realizing the reduction of
death associated by explosion by 89 percent, injuries by 95 percent and over 99 percent of
workers feeling satisfied with the safety of the workplace.

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References
Grades, L. P. (2012). BASF The Chemical Company.
Crowl, D. A. (2010). Understanding explosions (Vol. 16). John Wiley & Sons.
Christianson, S. (2010). Fatal Airs: The Deadly History and Apocalyptic Future of Lethal Gases
that Threaten Our World. ABC-CLIO.
De Lasa, H., Dogammau, G., & Ravella, A. (Eds.). (2012). Chemical reactor technology for
environmentally safe reactors and products (Vol. 225). Springer Science & Business
Media.
Negovanović, M., Kričak, L., Milanović, S., Đokić, N., & Simić, N. (2015). Ammonium nitrate
explosion hazards. Podzemni radovi, (27), 49-63.
Seltenrich, N. (2015). A hard nut to crack: reducing chemical migration in food-contact
materials. Environmental Health Perspectives, 123(7), A174.
Srinivasan, R., & Natarajan, S. (2012). Developments in inherent safety: a review of the progress
during 2001–2011 and opportunities ahead. Process Safety and Environmental
Protection, 90(5), 389-403.
Verboven, H. (2011). Communicating CSR and business identity in the chemical industry
through mission slogans. Business Communication Quarterly, 74(4), 415-431.
Zhao, J., Joas, R., Abel, J., Marques, T., & Suikkanen, J. (2013). Process safety challenges for
SMEs in China. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 26(5), 880-886.