At least two workers were killed, six others seriously injured and another two declared missing following a powerful explosion and fire that broke out during the late morning of Monday, Oct. 17, at BASF's headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The chemical group said the explosion occurred as firefighters were approaching a blaze that broke out while 2.6 t of liquefied gas was being transferred from a pipeline to a shipping tank at Ludwigshafen’s North Harbor.

According to local media reports, the explosion sent a plume of smoke about 100 m into the air. Residents of Ludwigshafen and beyond were warned to stay indoors and keep doors and windows closed. BASF said no excessive concentrations of toxic substances were released into the atmosphere. Up to early evening, however, site manager Uwe Liebelt was unable to say which chemicals were involved.

The incident, BASF’s 15^th at Ludwigshafen this year in which chemicals escaped into the atmosphere, led to the shutdown of the site’s two crackers, along with 12 other production facilities. Small fires were still burning in the harbor five hours after the outbreak, though all were under control, the group said.

In a separate accident, an explosion occurred at a BASF plastics additives plant in nearby Lampertheim in the early morning hours of Oct. 17. Four workers were injured and the plant was taken offline. Details were not immediately available.

The world’s largest chemical producer was criticized in some quarters for holding back information about the Ludwigshafen blast, despite its prior reputation for openness. An unusual series of slip-ups at the group’s main site in recent months – including the failure to bring the mammoth 300,000 t/y TDI plant to full run and a leak of the deadly chemical phosgene in June – have caused unease.

Some industry observers, trade unions and environmentalists have expressed fears that safety is being down-pedaled as BASF – and many other chemical producers – increasingly rely on outside contractors to perform important on-site functions.

The state legislature of Rhineland-Palatinate is said to be planning a special session to discuss the accidents and draw conclusions. At the behest of the state government, safety authorities already had plans to inspect BASF’s TDI plant, possibly this week.