Fatal incidents at four chemical facilities in recent weeks have killed at least five workers and injured several others.

On 21 September, a hydrogen explosion at AAK, a cooking oil producer in Louisville, US, killed one worker. Fire crews told local news reporters that initial indication was that the fire was related to handling of hydrogen used to convert plant oils into various products.

On 18 September, a process involving mixing acid and metal triggered an explosion at Limbani Salt Industries in the Palghar district of India’s Maharashtra state. Of the five workers present, one was killed instantly, two others sustained extensive burns and the last two escaped with minor injuries.

On 17 September at Equinor’s refinery in Mongstad, Norway, a contractor from lifting services firm Crane Norway was killed in an incident related to a lifting operation.

And on 11 September, a leak of fluorinated refrigerant gas R-32 (difluoromethane) killed two people and injured a dozen others at Gujarat Fluorochemicals’ plant in Ranjitnagar, India. One of the victims died on the day of the incident, while the second succumbed in hospital the following day. A previous incident at one of the company’s other sites in Bharuch, Gujarat, led to four deaths in December 2024.