About this episode

The episode discusses a chemical plant disaster in Flixborough, England, highlighting the consequences of engineering shortcuts.

Business History will be back on July 22nd - but here's an episode from another Pushkin Industries show we're sure you''ll enjoy, Cautionary Tales. A giant chemical plant near the small village of Flixborough, England, is busy churning out a key ingredient of nylon 6, a material used in everything from stockings to toothbrushes to electronics. When a reactor vessel fails, the engineers improvise a quick-fix workaround, so the plant can keep up with demand. Before long, the temporary patch - a small, bent pipe - becomes a permanent part of the factory, and the people of Flixborough unknowingly drift towards disaster. Listen to more Cautionary Tales whenever you get your podcasts.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Topics covered

• industrial disaster
• chemical plant
• engineering failure
• safety
• cautionary tales

Keywords

• Flixborough
• chemical plant
• nylon 6
• engineering
• disaster
• safety
• Cautionary Tales

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pushkin Industries

Products: nylon 6

Places: Flixborough, England

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