The risk of photochemical reactions

In January 1987, an incident occurred at a petrochemical complex in Salavat, Russia. The incident resulted in the poisoning of 17 people by the products of photochemical smog. This paper describes the incident and discusses the possibility of chemical reactions that pose toxic hazardous situations for chemical plant personnel. Pollutants present in the atmosphere as a result of continuous releases can result in the formation of toxic substances and the poisoning of people, even when permissible levels of concentrations are not exceeded for the initial pollutants. In addition, this paper addresses the need to consider the possibility of secondary chemical reactions in the environment while planning chemical plant activity.