Azf Toulouse Plant

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Qualitative content analysis examines the relationship between the text and its likely audience meaning, recognizing that media texts are polysemy example open to multiple different meanings to different readers and tries to determine the likely meaning of texts to audiences. It pays attention to audience, media and contextual factors not simply the text. Accordingly, qualitative content analysis relies heavily on researcher reading and interpretation of media texts. This intensive and time-consuming focus is one of the reasons that much qualitative content analysis has involved small samples of media content and been criticized by some researchers as unscientific and unreliable. In summary, quantitative content analysis can conform to the scientific method and produce reliable findings. Qualitative content analysis is difficult and maybe impossible to do with scientific reliability.

Apart from that method or methodology used was through the internet. Through many verified websites, information is easily accessible thus allowing a wider range of information to be obtained for the purpose of this study on the AZF Toulouse disaster. Commercially, media content analysis has a number of uses and offers significant benefits to companies, organizations, government agencies and political parties particularly those that receive wide media coverage. In practical terms, organizations receiving a small amount of publicity can review media coverage using personal observation. Media content analysis is increasingly used commercially because of the two key roles of the mass media. Through all the methodology above we were able to analyse and interpret the data and information obtained based on the various sources of information. We were able to form our own conclusions based on our analysis of the occurrence and causes of failure of the AZF Toulouse disaster.

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The AZF Toulouse explosion in September 2001 caused widespread of leakage of ammonia and nitrogen contamination and also psychological traumas. The objectives in this study were to evaluate the health impact of the AZF Toulouse explosion accident, assess the international response to the accident, and consider how to improve responses to future accidents. In relate to contamination health services and considering toxicological and epidemiological knowledge on the exposure-hazard relationship, it appears that there are no disquieting consequences concerning the health risk associated with the release of asbestos (cancers, fibrosis). Moreover, study on water monitoring system allows any alteration in raw water quality and the water distributed in the hours following the catastrophe to be detected. Despite increasing concern about the consequences of catastrophes, much has still to be learnt in this respect from the epidemiological and public health point of view. With regard to the severe consequences, epidemiological programmes should be able to provide information for appropriate decisions relating to environmental issues, healthcare delivery and secondary prevention in the population. However, the effects of a catastrophe have been shown to have profound effects on the lives of the population in the medium and long term. Study also relates to economic situation which the explosion also caused significant damage in the chemical companies located on the chemical platform outside the AZF plant severely damaging other chemical plant near AZF plant. So in relates to economic situation what the impact to be done for the losses and what type of safety features to be implicated in chemical plant for future safety and profit was also analyses on this case study.

ANALYSIS OF FAILURE

CHRONOLOGY OF THE EVENT

19th century or Year 1914

- A powder plant was built in the 19th century on the West side of the river Garonne, South of Toulouse, then far from the city, in a nascent suburb, about three miles from the centre.

- It expanded and, over time, it was sold from one company to another until it became a small, remote part of the TOTAL group as the AZF plant of the company Grande Paroisse. The plant, which was built in a remote suburb, became engulfed in the growing suburb.

20th century

- In the 20th century, an industrial zone developed around the AZF plant. A large plant was in the East of it, on an island separated from AZF by a narrow, shallow, rather stagnant arm of the river.

- A municipal cogeneration plant, burning garbage and selling electricity to the French grid managed by Electricite de France (EDF) is 1.5 mile away. This group, locally known as the “Chemical Pole”, is separated from the city by a sort of high levy over which were built a local road, a highway a railway track, and the high voltage line (63 kV) that feeds the local plants.

6th June 2001

The explosion on 21st September 2001 occurred in a “downgraded ammonium nitrates” store, building 221 and 222 which was authorized for 500 tons and contained between 300 and 400 tons of products on the day of the explosion. The “downgraded” products came principally from the ammonium nitrate production and packaging workshops for producing fertilizers or industrial ammonium nitrate the downgrading could be linked to irregularities in the particle size and also to the composition of the products.

This building was adjacent to the sack-filling building 123, 124, and 125, where combustible products were stored. This group of buildings was not fitted with a fire detection system. Work to bring the infrastructure of the building up to the required level had been undertaken over the last few years.

20th September 2001

- 15 to 20 metric tons of Ammonium Nitrate was moved into building 221-222

21st September 2001

- Ammonium Nitrate packing products were moved into the building

21st September 2001 (10:12 a.m.)

- A Grand Paroisse employee left an adjacent, sack-filling building. He reported that nothing was out of the ordinary.

21st September 2001 (10:17 a.m.)

The explosion occurred at 10.17a.m. in building 221. It caused the death of 30 people, 22 inside the factory and 8 outside. 2,500 were injured, 30 of them seriously and one of whom died last week. The explosion took place 3 km from the centre of Toulouse. At this point in time it is not