Probe: Refinery Workers Lacked Respirators Before Fatal Chemical Leak
- The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found that workers at the Ames Goldsmith Catalyst Refiners plant in Institute, West Virginia weren’t required to wear respirators or carry personal gas monitors while disposing of chemicals during the facility’s shutdown, ahead of an April leak that killed two employees and injured more than a dozen others.
- Investigators found the company had no written procedure for disposing of chemicals through its wastewater treatment system, and workers said the company stopped requiring respirators once the shutdown process began; the facility had only four face respirators, and not all were equipped with filters capable of protecting against deadly gases.
- The leak occurred when workers pumped a chemical solution into a wastewater tank and then added diluted nitric acid, triggering a reaction that released hydrogen sulfide gas. The pump operator lost consciousness after stepping outside, a supervisor who checked on him also collapsed, and two coworkers who went to help both inhaled the fumes and later died.
- The Ames Goldsmith facility had not been inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration since 2018 despite a history of workplace safety violations.
Two Workers Missing After Chemical Tank Explosions and Fire
- Two workers remained unaccounted for Aug. 18 morning after multiple explosions and a large fire tore through Brent Industries, an industrial textile reconditioning and recycling facility in Toledo, Ohio, with the blasts occurring shortly before 5 a.m. during a shift change.
- Toledo Fire & Rescue Chief Allison Armstrong said chemical tanks used in the facility’s cleaning processes ruptured during the incident, and multiple tanks containing mineral spirits created an added hazard for responding crews; the cause of the fire and explosions remains under investigation.
- Roughly 12 people were believed to be inside the facility at the time, and employees who managed to evacuate were evaluated and treated for injuries at the scene. Firefighters were cross-checking employee lists and searching void spaces and fire-protected areas for the two still missing.
- Chief Armstrong said there was no immediate danger to the surrounding Toledo community but urged residents to avoid the smoke and stay away from the area.
OSHA Investigates Worker Death at Steel Plant
- A worker died Aug. 13 while operating a pot hauler at the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant in Burns Harbor, Indiana, according to International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150; he leaves behind three young children.
- The worker was not a Cleveland-Cliffs employee but worked for Phoenix Services, a contractor providing services at the plant that is owned by SunCoke Energy.
- SunCoke’s Sharon Doyle, manager of investor relations and treasury, confirmed the company has been in contact with Indiana OSHA and is fully cooperating with the agency, local authorities and emergency responders as the investigation into the fatal accident proceeds.
- Officials have not released further details about the circumstances of the accident.