Hyderabad: The dryer blast in a chemical factory in Pashamylaram resulting in 13 fatalities is not an isolated event. Over the past 30 months, the state has witnessed at least 10 major industrial accidents involving reactor and dryer explosions, leaving around 25 dead and over 70 injured. The maximum number of such incidents have occurred in the industrial zones of Pashamylaram and Patancheru.Despite the frequent dryer & reactor explosions, nothing much has changed for workers or their working conditions. The last such major explosion was only six months ago. A flash fire had occurred when workers were shifting chemical powder from drums into a tray dryer at Srikar Pharmaceuticals Limited in IDA Bollaram. Luckily, no one died. But seven workers were severely injured.Sigachi Industries Pvt. Ltd, where the blast occurred on Monday, was in fact inspected in Dec by the factories department which had reported satisfactory conditions. But following the explosion, authorities ordered the facility's closure.These blasts have been mainly attributed to maintenance issues, a shortage of qualified personnel to handle equipment and negligence in maintaining proper chemical parameters during work.Failure to follow specific standard operating procedures always result in equipment malfunction, potentially causing explosions or accidents within a short time-frame, officials said.In the Pashamylaram incident, preliminary investigations by the factories department indicated an absence of hazardous materials, solvents, or critical chemicals near the dryers and reactors that could have ignited the blast.“Our preliminary findings suggest that the explosion was due to pressure accumulation in air handling in the dryer. The equipment may have experienced blockages from materials, resulting in heavy pressure build up. This might have triggered a blast. This unit processes microcrystalline cellulose powder derived from wood pulp, a component used in tablet production,” B Raja Gopal, director of factories, told TOI.HYDRAA commissioner A V Ranganath added: “The intense heat built up in the container led to the blast which impacted an area up to 50 metres.”