Silane Hazards
Industries using and producing chlorosilanes have had a number of very serious safety incidents.
For example,
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in 1994 more than one hundred residents of Gainesville Florida went to the hospital after a transfer hose failed, and the resulting fire created a large toxic cloud of chlorosilane and HCl vapors that went across the community.
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In 1997, a large toxic cloud of chlorosilane and HCL was created when a pipe line failed in Midland Michigan.
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In 2004 in Carrolton Kentucky, a large HCl cloud formed after an equipment failure and impacted the Ohio River traffic, rail traffic and vehicle traffic in the area.
While many of these are large volume releases, a fifty-gallon spill of chlorosilane can create a toxic cloud that can travel in excess of 1000 feet down-wind depending on conditions.