Electrical plant explosion in Thailand kills a female worker, injures over 20

[webfact]

Electrical plant explosion kills a female worker, injures over 20

BANGKOK: -- A powerful explosion at the KML Technology factory in Nonthaburi Monday morning killed one female worker and injured more than 20, three of them seriously.

The explosion flattened the rooftop of the factory building to the ground.

The incident was reported at about 9 am today at KML Technology, manufacturer and exporter of lightning and grounding protection system, located in Tambon Ban Klang of Bang Yai district of Nonthaburi province.

It was not immediately known the cause of explosion but factory workers said the explosion was sighted at a huge electrical transformer inside the factory.

Two explosions were heard before the rooftop collapsed to the ground while workers were working, they said.

All the 23 injured workers were immediately rushed to Kasemraj hospital, three are in serious condition.

One female workers was found under the debris of the collapsed rooftop.

The factory was immediately sealed for safety reason.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/electrical-plant-explosion-kills-a-female-worker-injures-over-20


-- Thai PBS 2015-05-04

[slapout]

why a electrial transformer would be installed in the working area for personel, must be a thai method of saving amount of cable required to get up and running.either that or the sparky doing the installation was the bosses son working on commission of saving.

[Toknarok]

And they're even contemplating nuclear power???

[halloween]

Where is Buchholz when you need him? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchholz_relay

[RigPig]

manufacturer and exporter of lightning and grounding protection system, located in Tambon Ban Klang of Bang Yai district of Nonthaburi province.

It was not immediately known the cause of explosion but factory workers said the explosion was sighted at a huge electrical transformer inside the factory.

UNBELIEVABLE !!!

[mikemac]

why a electrial transformer would be installed in the working area for personel, must be a thai method of saving amount of cable required to get up and running.either that or the sparky doing the installation was the bosses son working on commission of saving.

Well, you seem to know all about this case. If the investigators read your comment it will save them lots of time and money.

TV armchair sleuths at their best !

[T_Dog]

Large transformers have access ports that are designed to blow off if the pressure builds up inside. Have personally seen it happen and there are arcs and dielectric oil flying everywhere along with those plates, but not much percussion to do damage. Something is amiss with this story as I doubt just a transformer could blow the whole factory down.

[Lee4Life]

It appears that it was an "electronics & lighting components plant" not an "electrical plant". It is too bad that there was loss of life and also injuries, and it is pretty amazing that a transformer large enough to level a building was inside of a plant like that.

[realenglish1]

Electrical Transformer in the building and they manufacture grounding material for the electrical indus

Are you sure someone is giving us all the information

[soalbundy]

I don't have a lightning rod on my house, after reading this i don't think i'll bother, doesn't give one confidence in the firm if they can blow their own roof off in an electrical accident without any lightning being present.

Are they sure it wasn't the brakes ?

[ratcatcher]

It appears that it was an "electronics & lighting components plant" not an "electrical plant". It is too bad that there was loss of life and also injuries, and it is pretty amazing that a transformer large enough to level a building was inside of a plant like that.

Just for the record. http://www.kumwell.com/

[FarangKino]

The factory was immediately sealed for safety reason.

Rearrange the following words into a well known phrase or saying:

bolted had horse the after door stable the closing

[Happy Grumpy]

Thai electwicitee no need Earth.

[halloween]

Had a large Tx fail at the power station I worked at, and I mean really large - 23/500kV and 350MW. No bang, the protection worked, but they are contained in cement walls, to direct any blast away from the building, and a bund to retain the oil. Oil samples are taken daily and supposedly checked for copper content, a sure sign something is wrong. Problem was the guy who does the checking was retrenched and not replaced, and a long string of samples showing increasing problems were sitting on the bench waiting analysis.

The Tx alone cost over a million Oz$, and the lost production far more.

[trogers]

Had a large Tx fail at the power station I worked at, and I mean really large - 23/500kV and 350MW. No bang, the protection worked, but they are contained in cement walls, to direct any blast away from the building, and a bund to retain the oil. Oil samples are taken daily and supposedly checked for copper content, a sure sign something is wrong. Problem was the guy who does the checking was retrenched and not replaced, and a long string of samples showing increasing problems were sitting on the bench waiting analysis.

The Tx alone cost over a million Oz$, and the lost production far more.

Orders from China slow down and they retrench the safety crew first?

[Commander Tamson]

Don't want to Thai bash here, but does anyone know if a proper, government-department-led, investigation into the safety and maintenance records of the factory will now be held?

[MaiChai]

Wonder if their "test facility" had a malfunction?

[RigPig]

I don't have a lightning rod on my house, after reading this i don't think i'll bother, doesn't give one confidence in the firm if they can blow their own roof off in an electrical accident without any lightning being present.

Are they sure it wasn'

If your house is under 4 stories high you do not need lightning protection (unless you are in a weird part of the world)....

Why would you want to attract lightning to your house with a rod?

Transformers can blow up without a ground fault, but if there is the correct protection used it should be able to fault without blowing the place apart!...

[berybert]

Don't want to Thai bash here, but does anyone know if a proper, government-department-led, investigation into the safety and maintenance records of the factory will now be held?

Yes, but not before they can get the bamboo scaffolding up and the guys wearing flip flops to repair the roof.

[RigPig]

Large transformers have access ports that are designed to blow off if the pressure builds up inside. Have personally seen it happen and there are arcs and dielectric oil flying everywhere along with those plates, but not much percussion to do damage. Something is amiss with this story as I doubt just a transformer could blow the whole factory down.

WRONG!!!

Not all transformers (even to high capacity) have oil in them for cooling, many are just air cooled.

In some heavy load situations you have to pay the supply authority for the use of their transformer and then you own it, so it is installed INSIDE your premises...

Proper protection (both on the input and output side) of the transformer should provide adequate protection, but I have seen many installations where the protection is only (and usually the wrong side) on one side of the supply!! It´s all to do with money surprisingly enough......

[halloween]

Had a large Tx fail at the power station I worked at, and I mean really large - 23/500kV and 350MW. No bang, the protection worked, but they are contained in cement walls, to direct any blast away from the building, and a bund to retain the oil. Oil samples are taken daily and supposedly checked for copper content, a sure sign something is wrong. Problem was the guy who does the checking was retrenched and not replaced, and a long string of samples showing increasing problems were sitting on the bench waiting analysis.

The Tx alone cost over a million Oz$, and the lost production far more.

Orders from China slow down and they retrench the safety crew first?

Strange you should say that. Over 20 years ago, but manning was reduced savagely and all OT stopped. When we had a turbine lube oil fire, there weren't enough men for the fire team and had to call the brigade from over 20km away. Lube pump couldn't be stopped till turbine stops spinning (loooong time) so a lot of damage which insurance refused to cover as policy written on basis of fire team available on site.

[BSJ]

I don't have a lightning rod on my house, after reading this i don't think i'll bother, doesn't give one confidence in the firm if they can blow their own roof off in an electrical accident without any lightning being present.

Are they sure it wasn'

If your house is under 4 stories high you do not need lightning protection (unless you are in a weird part of the world)....

Why would you want to attract lightning to your house with a rod?

Transformers can blow up without a ground fault, but if there is the correct protection used it should be able to fault without blowing the place apart!...

Lightning blew out the electrical system on the wifes house (ground floor/1st floor) so we had the local lecky come in and rewire.....put in a safety switch plus put in a lightning rod.

[hugh2121]

Had a large Tx fail at the power station I worked at, and I mean really large - 23/500kV and 350MW. No bang, the protection worked, but they are contained in cement walls, to direct any blast away from the building, and a bund to retain the oil. Oil samples are taken daily and supposedly checked for copper content, a sure sign something is wrong. Problem was the guy who does the checking was retrenched and not replaced, and a long string of samples showing increasing problems were sitting on the bench waiting analysis.

The Tx alone cost over a million Oz$, and the lost production far more.

Orders from China slow down and they retrench the safety crew first?

Does that mean they put them in a ditch?

[Mudcrab]

Large transformers have access ports that are designed to blow off if the pressure builds up inside. Have personally seen it happen and there are arcs and dielectric oil flying everywhere along with those plates, but not much percussion to do damage. Something is amiss with this story as I doubt just a transformer could blow the whole factory down.

WRONG!!!

Not all transformers (even to high capacity) have oil in them for cooling, many are just air cooled.

In some heavy load situations you have to pay the supply authority for the use of their transformer and then you own it, so it is installed INSIDE your premises...

Proper protection (both on the input and output side) of the transformer should provide adequate protection, but I have seen many installations where the protection is only (and usually the wrong side) on one side of the supply!! It´s all to do with money surprisingly enough......

It is very rare to see the secondary side of a transformer with any protection. Usually the only protection is a circuit breaker or fuses downstream of the secondary supply side protecting equipment downstream from it, but not the actual secondary winding of the transformer itself. I have seen very recently a device which can bolted directly to the secondary tails of a transformer to protect the downstream cables....but it is very very big and costs as much as the transformer....never seen one actually installed.

Most installations only have protection on the primary side.

I'm talking about industrial/generation plant distribution and power transformers here not little ones in electronic devices etc

[RigPig]

why a electrial transformer would be installed in the working area for personel, must be a thai method of saving amount of cable required to get up and running.either that or the sparky doing the installation was the bosses son working on commission of saving.

Well, you seem to know all about this case. If the investigators read your comment it will save them lots of time and money.

TV armchair sleuths at their best !

OR you could install the transformer with adequate protection so this does not happen, oh sorry I forgot that might cost money...

But even if the supply authority own the tranny it is not uncommon to install it inside the premises, yes to save money that the customer would have to pay for. Fuses on BOTH sides(the input and output should have prevented any destructive damage caused by a fault, as long as the protection (fuses) are sized correctly. Fuses are the ¨weak link¨ in the chain, using over sized fuses because they are blowing all the time is not fixing the problem only addressing the symptoms..

[RigPig]

Thai electwicitee no need Earth.

TRUE!! Unless you don´t want to leave it up to Buddha as to when you die.....

[RigPig]

Had a large Tx fail at the power station I worked at, and I mean really large - 23/500kV and 350MW. No bang, the protection worked, but they are contained in cement walls, to direct any blast away from the building, and a bund to retain the oil. Oil samples are taken daily and supposedly checked for copper content, a sure sign something is wrong. Problem was the guy who does the checking was retrenched and not replaced, and a long string of samples showing increasing problems were sitting on the bench waiting analysis.

The Tx alone cost over a million Oz$, and the lost production far more.

Ahhhh preventative maintenance, it only costs money think how much we could save without it...

[RigPig]

Don't want to Thai bash here, but does anyone know if a proper, government-department-led, investigation into the safety and maintenance records of the factory will now be held?

I only have one word to say...... Baht !!!!

[tifino]

I'm dreading for the neighbours, or the next occupants to take over the premises when this company abandons the joint - what about the PCBs in the Oil? that got away

[RigPig]

Large transformers have access ports that are designed to blow off if the pressure builds up inside. Have personally seen it happen and there are arcs and dielectric oil flying everywhere along with those plates, but not much percussion to do damage. Something is amiss with this story as I doubt just a transformer could blow the whole factory down.

WRONG!!!

Not all transformers (even to high capacity) have oil in them for cooling, many are just air cooled.

In some heavy load situations you have to pay the supply authority for the use of their transformer and then you own it, so it is installed INSIDE your premises...

Proper protection (both on the input and output side) of the transformer should provide adequate protection, but I have seen many installations where the protection is only (and usually the wrong side) on one side of the supply!! It´s all to do with money surprisingly enough......

It is very rare to see the secondary side of a transformer with any protection. Usually the only protection is a circuit breaker or fuses downstream of the secondary supply side protecting equipment downstream from it, but not the actual secondary winding of the transformer itself. I have seen very recently a device which can bolted directly to the secondary tails of a transformer to protect the downstream cables....but it is very very big and costs as much as the transformer....never seen one actually installed.

Most installations only have protection on the primary side.

I'm talking about industrial/generation plant distribution and power transformers here not little ones in electronic devices etc

So if the primary side had the correct fuses installed, when the secondary side ¨shorted¨ out and dragged too much current they should blow?

The secondary side fuses will only protect the cabling and installation...

The transformer should never have exploded enough to cause the ceiling to collapse.......