This paper describes three incidents involving buckets or other small, open containers that have occurred at Rohm and Haas facilities. In one, a reaction between sodium and water propelled a bucket with considerable force, resulting in an injury. In another, a fire occurred when the lid of a plastic bucket containing a liquid peroxide became contaminated during filling and was blown off. In the last, a solid peroxide and several different initiators and catalysts were staged on a pallet for use in batch reactors. A fire was caused by the mixing of small spills from the containers on or under the pallet used to bold them. The fire caused severe damage and temporary shutdown of a reactor train. In all cases, a good Environmental, Health, and Safety Review would have identified the problems and the review teams could have easily developed methods to prevent the accident. (c) 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process.