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CSB  CURRENT INVESTIGATIONS
July 29, 2008 Packaging Corporation Storage Tank Explosion, Tomahawk, WI
On July 29, 2008, three workers died and a fourth was injured when an explosion occurred inside an 80-foot-tall storage tank at the Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) corrugated cardboard mill in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. The workers were on a catwalk above the tank and performing hot work (welding) at the time of the explosion. The storage tank held a mixture of recycled paper pulp and water. The CSB is performing microbiological and chemical testing to determine what caused flammable gas to be present inside the tank.
June 11, 2008 Goodyear Heat Exchanger Rupture, Houston, TX
On June 11, 2008, one worker was killed and approximately seven others were injured, during a maintenance operation on a heat exchanger. Ammonia overpressured inside the exchanger, causing it to rupture.
February 7, 2008 Imperial Sugar Company Explosion and Fire, Port Wentworth, GA
On February 7, 2008, a huge explosion and fire occurred at the Imperial Sugar refinery northwest of Savannah, Georgia, causing 14 deaths and injuring 38 others, including 14 with serious and life-threatening burns. The explosion was fueled by massive accumulations of combustible sugar dust throughout the packaging building.
January 14, 2008 BP America Refinery Accident, Texas City, TX
On January 14, 2008, a worker was fatally injured when the top of a large steel filter housing suddenly blew off in the refinery's ultracracker unit. This unit is across a roadway from the ISOM unit, where a 2005 accident killed 15 workers and injured 180 others.
December 19, 2007 T2 Laboratories Inc. Explosion and Fire, Jacksonville, FL
On December 19, 2007, four people were killed and 13 others were transported to the hospital when an explosion occured at T2 Laboratories Inc. during the production of a gasoline additive called methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl.
October 29, 2007 Barton Solvents Flammable Liquid Explosion and Fire, Des Moines, IA
On October 29, 2007, a fire and series of explosions occurred at the Barton Solvents chemical distribution facility in Des Moines, Iowa, . The initial fire started in the packaging area while a 300-gallon portable steel tank was being filled with ethyl acetate, a flammable solvent.
October 2, 2007 Xcel Energy Company Fire, Georgetown, CO
On October 2, 2007, five people were killed and three others injured when a fire erupted 1,000 feet underground in a tunnel at Xcel Energy Company's hydroelectric power plant in Georgetown, Colorado, located approximately 45 miles west of Denver. The fatally injured workers were trapped deep underground during an operation to coat the inside of the tunnel with epoxy using highly flammable solvents. The tunnel is several thousand feet long and connects two reservoirs with electricity-generating turbines.
January 30, 2007 Little General Store Propane Explosion, Ghent, WV
Four people were killed and five others were seriously injured when propane vapors from a storage tank ignited and exploded at the Little General convenience store and gas station in Ghent, West Virginia. Propane was used as fuel inside the building, which was completely destroyed.