1.1 The Incident
The production department began preparing a 6,080 pound acrylic polymer batch the day before the incident, approximately 12 percent more material than would normally be made in a single batch. The plant superintendent determined the quantities of solvent, monomer, and initiator needed for
the batch.1 The day shift operators then blended the solvents and used some of the blend to prepare the initiator solution. They added the balance to the 1,500 gallon reactor. The second shift operators, in accordance with written instructions, added some of the monomer to the reactor and held back the remainder for use later in the reaction sequence.