What happened

A tank containing liquid hazardous waste exploded in the nine-tank storage field serving Currenta's hazardous-waste incineration plant at the Bürrig disposal centre beside Chempark Leverkusen. The blast and ensuing fully developed tank-farm fire killed seven workers and injured 31, some seriously; all casualties were site personnel and no off-site injuries were reported. A dark smoke plume crossed surrounding districts, prompting residents to shelter indoors and close windows. Although initial mobile air monitoring found no abnormal readings, authorities issued precautionary advice to avoid soot deposits, garden produce, playgrounds and self-cleaning of contaminated surfaces while samples were tested for possible dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls and related compounds. Official analysis subsequently found no hazardous dioxin or PCB residue in the sampled soot, and Leverkusen lifted the precautions. Later investigation found that hazardous waste imported from Denmark had been stored too warm, triggering a runaway reaction; prosecutors concluded that employees could not have foreseen the danger because important hazard documentation was missing. The accident severely damaged waste-treatment machinery and disrupted site operations, making it a major fatal solvent-waste infrastructure disaster rather than a general Chempark production-plant explosion.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.