EE. UU.
EE. UU.

myGeobrugg

Explosion: safety net prevents worse

Explosion: safety net prevents worse

3 Septiembre 2014

In July 2014, a tremendous explosion in Stahl Gerlafingen AG’s factory catapulted blazing hot slag blocks across the plant area. Some of the larger blocks fell into an adjacent man-camp and luckily, nobody was injured or killed. Prior to the incident, there was heavy and long lasting rainfall. It is believed that the rainfall infiltrated the groundwater below the slag pit, triggering the explosion. 

Geobrugg’s safety net helped in the prevention of major damage, despite not being constructed for an explosion of that magnitude. The safety net suffered minor damage in the explosion. However, since the explosive power exceeded all expectations, the design requirements for safety nets used for this type of event are now reviewed by external engineers.