Washington — Employers can help prevent chemical releases and explosions by equipping workers and facilities with gas monitors, the Chemical Safety Board is emphasizing as it continues its investigation into a fatal incident involving hydrogen sulfide.
CSB recently released an update on the incident, which occurred in January at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville, ME.
Two workers were fatally injured after “highly toxic” hydrogen sulfide was released from holes and process openings in equipment into a process building at the mill, CSB says. Agency investigators found that facility operators shut down much of the mill the day before the incident to manage the use of natural gas. The operators drained equipment as part of the protocol, and process fluid was fed into an acid sewer pipe.
When the machinery that removes hydrogen sulfide gas from the pipe was later shut down, toxic gas spread to other parts of the mill. The agency reports that the workers collapsed while they completed a project that likely wasn’t impacted by the shutdown. They were discovered hours after emergency response operations concluded and the remaining gas had dissipated.
“Our investigation update notes that Woodland Pulp was aware of the hazards associated with hydrogen sulfide gas forming in the acid sewer piping, but despite this knowledge, the company did not have adequate systems in place to monitor or mitigate the hazards,” CSB member Sylvia Johnson said. “This safety gap likely led to the severity of this tragic incident.”
The investigation is ongoing, the agency says, adding that “complete findings, analyses and recommendations, if appropriate, will be detailed in the CSB’s final investigation report.”
