Washington — Workers at a chemical plant in Conyers, GA, stored more than twice the amount of reactive chemicals as first intended ahead of a series of nonfatal fires, the Chemical Safety Board says.
CSB recently issued a second update on its ongoing investigation into the Sept. 29 incident, which also triggered a “massive plume of potentially toxic smoke” at the Bio-Lab Inc. facility.
Oxidizers reacted with fuel and heat to ignite a fire, CSB says. The board found that chemicals were stored in “super sacks” – large bulk bags holding about 2,750 pounds – arranged in multiple piles within racks. The oxidizers were kept near other dry chemicals and not segregated, with various chemicals stored outside the facility firewall.
In all, the facility had about 13.9 million pounds of chemicals in storage at the time of the incident, according to the update.
Investigators say a chemical reaction sparked the fires, which triggered the destruction of a storage warehouse. The reaction “generated heat that led to the decomposition of products” and “produced large plumes of smoke and released toxic vapors, prompting shelter-in-place orders, evacuations and road closures.” No injuries were reported.
CSB reports that Bio-Lab began a permanent fire watch two to three months before the incident after “detecting strong odors from oxidizers” in two storage buildings, including the one that ultimately was destroyed.
“The more we learn about this unacceptable incident, the more disturbing it is,” CSB Chair Steve Owens said in a press release. “This is a stark reminder of the very serious dangers that can occur when enormous amounts of reactive and corrosive chemicals are stored without proper safeguards in place.”
CSB says that “complete findings, analyses and recommendations, if appropriate,” will be part of a final investigation report.
