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Safety

Safety Board Details Zinc Plant Explosion

by Andrea Widener
March 16, 2015 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 93, Issue 11

A report released last week by the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) explains the cause of a deadly 2010 explosion at the Horsehead zinc refinery in Monaca, Pa. Two workers were killed and another was seriously injured in the accident. Despite reviews from CSB and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the cause of the explosion was still not clear. CSB then hired William Hunter, a zinc manufacturing expert, to evaluate the evidence. Hunter found that a drainage problem created a flood of superheated liquid zinc, which ruptured out of a stories-tall distillation column with an underlying design flaw. The zinc then caught fire when it came in contact with air. This distillation method, called the New Jersey process, is no longer used in the U.S. but is still used overseas. In another move, CSB announced it will investigate a Feb. 18 explosion at an ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, Calif. That explosion caused injuries and property damage.

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