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On March 9, 2004, a lorry transporting ammonium nitrate (AN) overturned. The load caught fire and exploded due to the self-sustaining decomposition reactions of the AN. The consequences were two deaths, five injuries, and significant material damage in the form of destruction to vehicles and the highway. This article delves into the causes of the accident through root cause analysis techniques, such as fishbone, AcciMap and events and causal factors charting, which have demonstrated that the causes were not only physicochemical but also of an organizational nature. The explosion caused a crater 18 m in diameter, which would be equivalent to one caused by 11.4 tonnes of TNT. Through the relevant models, we have established the overpressure-distance map, explaining the breakage of lorry windscreens located 100 m from the accident site, and the vibration of glass planes at a distance of some 4 km. This accident underscored the need to comply with the safety measures handed down by competent bodies: (a) avoid contamination of AN, especially with fuels; (b) prevent the AN from being exposed to heat; (c) isolate for a minimum distance of 800 m in all directions around the accident site; (d) in case of fire, flood the area from a distance and stay away from the fire.

Aim of study: The objective of this paper was to understand the differences between immigrants and Spanish workers in terms of duration of sick leave, for work accidents in Spain’s agricultural sector, to propose possible action plans and improve the sector’s future accident rates, with equal conditions for immigrants and Spanish workers. Area of study: The analysis was based in a total of 158,166 accidents in Spain from 2013 to 2018 Material and methods: The average number of working days lost per group (Spanish and immigrants) has been calculated for the different variables. For each case, a mean comparison analysis was performed using Student's t-test to independently compare nationals and immigrants for each variable. Main results: The agricultural sector produces a high level of severe accident rates compared to other sectors, as incident rates of death are 59.36% higher in agriculture compared to other sectors. It has the highest level of accidents for foreign workers, as immigrants presented 91.36% more accidents that Spaniards, even if accidents for immigrants are under reported, as regarding workdays lost due to injuries reported, these are statistically higher for Spanish workers. This meaning that this sector is more precarious, and this is worse for immigrants, therefore is a compelling matter of social justice that deserve the establishment of policies for government and companies to equate work conditions between immigrants and Spaniards. Research highlights: A comparative analysis of the severity of occupational accidents between Spanish and foreign workers in Spain’s agricultural sector.

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