Explosion in Chempark Leverkusen in 2021

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Panorama over the scene, picture from 2017, view from the north
Aerial photo of the site of the explosion (2016, view from the southwest)

The explosion in Chempark Leverkusen occurred on the morning of July 27, 2021 in the Currenta waste disposal center at Chempark in Leverkusen . It shook the area beyond the city. A tank farm caught fire in the Currenta waste disposal center in the Wiesdorf district . Two employees died in the explosion, 31 people were injured, five of them with life-threatening burns. Five people are missing.

explosion

On the morning of July 27, 2021, three tanks, each 300 to 400 cubic meters in size, containing liquid production waste from the chemical industry , including various chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents , caught fire .

At 9:38 a.m., a major explosion occurred that killed at least two people and injured over 30 other people. It shook the entire city of Leverkusen and could also be heard in distant Bergisch Gladbach and in Cologne on both sides of the Rhine . Seismic systems registered a tremor of the starch 2.4. A column of smoke grew over the district and moved north. Three hundred forces the plant fire Currenta and fire departments Leverkusen and Cologne were in use.

The police cordoned off a large area; Nearby motorways were also affected (parts of the A 1 and A 3 around the Leverkusen motorway junction and the A 59 ).

According to the North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), there was a risk of explosion in another tank, which contained 100 cubic meters of highly flammable, toxic waste. However, the fire brigade was able to avert its explosion.

Civil protection

The BBK issued a regional warning at 9:51 a.m. via its warning app NINA ; the city issued a warning about disaster control sirens ("extreme danger"). The WDR reported at 11:51 a.m. that the warning announcement had been extended to the city of Solingen in the Aufderhöhe and Ohligs area.

The cloud of smoke moved over Leverkusen, Opladen, Leichlingen, Solingen, Remscheid, Mettmann, Vohwinkel, Wuppertal, Wülfrath, Heiligenhaus, Hattingen, Bochum, Essen.

The fire brigade in Dortmund, 60 kilometers away, also warned of possible health effects from the smoke. People shouldn't leave their homes, keep doors and windows closed. The authorities later announced that fruit and vegetables from gardens in the area should not be consumed for the time being as a precaution. Garden furniture, play equipment or other objects on which soot has been deposited should not be used, touched or cleaned, as dioxin cannot be ruled out.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ralf Krieger and Rebecca Lessmann: Explosion at the hazardous waste incineration: huge cloud of smoke over the city. July 27, 2021, accessed July 27, 2021 .
  2. ↑ Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: Explosion at the hazardous waste incineration , accessed on July 28, 2021
  3. ↑ Britta Schunck, Bernd Bussang: Motorways A1, A3 and A59 closed: Severe explosion in Chempark Leverkusen - police report several injuries. July 27, 2021, accessed July 27, 2021 .
  4. ↑ Explosion in Chempark shakes Leverkusen. Another fatality after the explosion in the Chempark in Leverkusen. WDR, July 27, 2021, accessed on July 27, 2021 .
  5. ↑ a b Leverkusen: Explosion in the Chempark - an overview of the most important things. In: Der Spiegel. Retrieved July 27, 2021 .
  6. ↑ volcanodiscovery.com: Unconfirmed earthquake , accessed July 28, 2021
  7. ↑ a b Britta Schunck, Bernd Bussang, Leah Hautermans: Rescue work continues: Second fatality found after explosion in Chempark in Leverkusen. July 27, 2021, accessed July 27, 2021 .
  8. ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung: North Rhine-Westphalia: Heavy explosion in Leverkusen. Retrieved July 27, 2021 .
  9. ↑ https://www.24rhein.de/rheinland-nrw/explosion-chempark-leverkusen-rauchwolke-bochum-essen-hattingen-90886148.html
  10. ↑ https://www.bild.de/regional/koeln/koeln-aktuell/nach-mega-explosion-in-leverkusen-wie-giftig-ist-diese-wolke-77208758.bild.html

Coordinates: 51 ° 2 ′ 32.1 ″  N , 6 ° 58 ′ 7 ″  E