Tag: explosion

Putnam Co. Man Identified As Fatality In Belle Chemical Plant Explosion

A Putnam County man was identified Wednesday as the victim in a Tuesday evening plant explosion at the Optima Chemicals Co. in Belle that shook surrounding homes and prompted a temporary shelter-in-place order for several hours.

John Gillenwater, of Hurricane, was transported from the plant to a local hospital but later died, according to the Associated Press.

Gillenwater’s family acknowledged his passing in a statement.

“The family is devastated over the loss of their husband, father and friend John Gillenwater,” the statement said. “John was beloved by many in his community and his church. At this time, the family is dealing with the shock of this tragedy and we ask that you respect their privacy.”

Three others were injured in the fiery blast, which lit up the night sky and sent smoke clouds billowing along the river in Kanawha County.

In a news release from Optima Chemicals, the two employees who were hurt in the explosion were evaluated at a local hospital but have since been released. The fourth person injured was hit by debris while driving nearby, but was able to drive without help to Montgomery General Hospital.

CW Sigman, director of the Kanawha County Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said officials with local regulatory agencies, the plant itself and some of his team investigated the incident Wednesday morning.

“One of our folks was out in the neighborhood and making sure everything’s okay, and it seems to be,” Sigman said. “[And they made] sure there’s no odors or anything like that on either side of the river.”

Sigman said the explosion involved chlorinated dry bleach and methanol, with the latter acting as an accelerant. He said first responders worked to contain the fire but also allowed it to burn off rather than rely too much on firefighting foam, which is known to cause a potentially cancerous chemical known as PFAs.

“Probably the best way to handle it. That way, the firefighting foam, and all that stuff, will not contaminate the water,” he said. “Methanol burns pretty clean.”

Gov. Jim Justice acknowledged the incident in his Wednesday virtual press briefing on the state’s coronavirus response.

A spokesperson for Optima Chemicals said preliminary information indicates that the cause of the incident occurred as a result of a 1200-gallon metal dryer becoming over- pressurized during a chemical-product drying operation. The material in the dryer was a compound used for sanitization.

People who lived in the area reported their houses shook. Emergency officials announced a shelter-in-place order for two miles around the plant, and a nearby road was closed before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames and allow people to move around. The order was lifted early Wednesday morning.

The Chemours Co. formed as a spinoff from DuPont in 2015, and Optima has been a tenant of Chemours at the Belle location since that year.

Optima Chemical was established in 1991 from the chemical division of AFF. The West Virginia location manufactures specialty agricultural chemical products. Optima is headquartered in Georgia.

The 723-acre site is located along the Kanawha River about 10 miles southeast of Charleston. The town of Belle has about 1,100 residents.

March 18, 1905: Thirteen Miners Killed in a Massive Explosion at Red Ash

On March 18, 1905, a freak incident led to a mine disaster at Red Ash in Fayette County. Thirteen men were under ground when a mine car ran over some explosives, igniting coal dust. The massive explosion killed all 13 miners. The next day, members of a rescue party were carelessly carrying open-flame lights. 

Either burning timbers or the open lights set off another explosion, which killed all 11 members of the rescue party. It took 10 days to recover the bodies of all 24 men who’d perished in the two explosions.

The event occurred five years to the month after another disaster at Red Ash. In March 1900, a methane explosion had taken the lives of 46 men. In that incident, a machine operator had left a ventilating trap door open, allowing methane to gather. Open flames on the miners’ hats likely ignited the methane and set off several kegs of blasting powder.

After the explosions in 1905, Red Ash soon disappeared from the map as a town. Today, it’s one of many ghost towns that whitewater rafters pass while riding the rapids down the New River. 

Feds Say Land Shift Likely Caused Explosion, Pipeline Still at Risk

A natural gas pipeline explosion that occurred last month in Marshall County was likely caused by land subsidence, or movement, according to federal regulators.

In a notice of proposed safety order, issued to TransCanada Corp. this week, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said shifting land likely triggered the explosion of the Leach Xpress pipeline.

“The preliminary investigation suggests that the failure was the result of land subsidence causing stress on a girth weld,” PHMSA said.

The explosion occurred during the early hours of June 7 near Moundsville, West Virginia. No injuries or damage to private property were reported, but a fireball burned for several hours after an 83-foot section of the pipeline burst into flames, releasing more than $430,000 worth of natural gas.

TransCanada’s own incident report released this week states the pipeline failed due to a landslide, but not one caused by heavy rainfall.

The full federal investigation is still ongoing, but PHMSA’s proposed safety order states TransCanada should conduct extra surveillance and analysis on a 50-mile section of the pipeline that is buried in terrain geologically similar to where the explosion took place.

TransCanada is the parent company of Columbia Gas Transmission LLC, which operates the 130-mile pipeline that runs from Majorsville, West Virginia to Crawford, Ohio. The pipeline went into operation in January and was not running at full capacity when the explosion occurred.

In the order, the federal safety agency also said it identified six other locations where similar geography could cause the pipeline to fail. It outlines a series of additional corrective actions the company should undertake.

TransCanada has 30 days to review the order and request consultation with PHMSA regarding the proposed suggestions.

Lindsey Fought, a spokeswoman for the company said an email TransCanada had reviewed the notice.

“The investigation into our pipeline incident in Marshall County, West Virginia, on June 7, 2018 remains ongoing and we are fully cooperating with PHMSA to determine the root cause,” she stated. “Initial findings noted in the PHMSA Proposed Safety Order, as well as our internal findings, point to land subsidence as the cause of the rupture.”

This story was updated on 07/13/18 to include comment from TransCanada.

Explosion at W.Va. Recycling Plant Injures Employee

Officials say an explosion at a recycling facility in West Virginia has burned an employee.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that state fire marshal Shawn Alderman says the worker was treated for burns at a local hospital after the incident at Cashin Recyclables in Nitro. Alderman says it happened shortly after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday when the worker used a hand-held rotary saw to scrap an oxygen cylinder.

Alderman says a “burst fire” occurred when the worker cut into the tank. Alderman says certain precautions are needed ahead of time when a rotary saw is used to cut oxygen cylinders.

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration spokeswoman Leni Uddyback-Fortson says investigators were looking into the incident.

According to the Gazette-Mail, Cashin Recyclables managers were in a meeting and unavailable for comment.

Ordered to Drop Politics, Ex-Coal CEO Shows Views on Trial

An outspoken critic of President Barack Obama charged with conspiring to violate mine safety rules before a deadly explosion is under orders not to tell jurors he’s being persecuted by Democrats.

The federal judge also warned former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship that safety rules are not on trial.

But Blankenship hasn’t checked his Republican politics at the courtroom door, and criticizing the inspectors remains key to his defense.

Blankenship’s attorney William Taylor has argued that the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors targeted Massey’s mines after Obama took office, spending twice as long in Upper Big Branch in 2009 as in 2007, under President George W. Bush.

He also said regulators demanded ventilation changes “almost impossible to implement” before an explosion killed 29 miners in 2010.

1 Injured in W.Va. Gas Explosion

At least one person was injured in West Virginia after a gas line exploded near Winfield.

The explosion occurred Monday afternoon.

 
West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety spokesman Lawrence Messina says initial reports indicate the explosion may have been caused when a piece of equipment started up near a 4-inch gas line that was leaking. Messina says no homes in the area were affected.

 
Messina says initial reports say one man was taken to a hospital’s burn unit. 

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