Midland Resource Recovery Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

2nd W.Va. Gas-Processing Plant Explosion kills 1

Another person has been killed in an explosion at a West Virginia industrial plant where two people were killed last month, authorities said Tuesday.

Officials said the explosion Tuesday morning was at Midland Resource Recovery, a company based in Ontario, Canada, that odorizes natural gas.

In a preliminary report, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said contractors at the facility outside Philippi were disassembling a 30-gallon tank, trying to render tanks safe from the previous explosion May 24 that killed two and injured one.

The agency says a preliminary report shows one other person was injured and an unknown quantity of Mercaptan, the chemical used to give natural gas an odor, was spilled.

A woman who answered the telephone at the company’s headquarters in Ontario declined to comment.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun an investigation. OSHA spokeswoman Lenore Uddyback-Fortson said the victim was an employee of Specialized Professional Services Inc. The company based in Washington, Pennsylvania, handles hazardous material. Calls to the company were not immediately returned Tuesday.

Chemical Reaction Investigated in Fatal Blast

The lead federal investigator examining the explosion that killed two men at a West Virginia industrial plant May 24 says they’re still testing and gathering evidence to determine the what caused the approximately 100-gallon tank to blow apart.

Mark Wingard with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board says Friday that one possible scenario is some type for chemical reaction that violently caused an increase in pressure or heat or both.

Midland Resource Recovery outside Philippi was decommissioning the tank that contained residual mercaptan, the chemical that gives a strong odor to natural gas, when it exploded into multiple pieces.

The federal office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration said owner Jan Strmen and employee Justin Marsh were killed decommissioning the tank. Another worker was seriously injured.

US Safety Board to Probe Plant Explosion in W.Va.

An independent national agency is joining investigations into this week’s explosion at a West Virginia industrial plant that left the owner and an employee dead.

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board examines the root causes of chemical incidents.

Board spokeswoman Hillary Cohen said Friday that a team is heading to the Midland Resource Recovery facility outside Philippi. According to information from the federal Office of Safety and Health Administration, the plant cleans and decommissions old odorant tanks from gas companies.

OSHA said owner Jan Strmen and employee Justin Marsh were decommissioning a tank when it exploded. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection says they were using bleach while preparing a tank for cleaning.

Another employee was hospitalized with serious injuries.

The company has declined to comment.

Two Dead After Explosion in Barbour County

Two people are dead in Barbour County this afternoon following an explosion at Midland Resource Recovery, according to Barbour County Emergency Management.

One other person was injured and taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

The three were cleaning a tank at the natural gas odorization facility at the time of the explosion.

The names of those involved have not yet been released.