Senate Hearings Show Deadly Sugar Blast Was Waiting to Happen

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AFL-CIO News Blog

by Mike Hall, Jul 29, 2008

For years, Imperial Sugar Co.’s Port Wentworth, Ga., sugar refinery was an explosion waiting to happen—and on Feb. 7, a blast at the plant killed 13 people. The explosion apparently was triggered when a metal conveyer bucket hit the side of a metal elevator shaft and created a spark that ignited tons of combustible sugar dust inside the plant.

At a Senate hearing today, government officials, workplace safety experts and an Imperial Sugar Co. executive painted a picture of a dangerous and dirty plant where electrical equipment was nearly encrusted in sugar dust, with dust waist deep in places.

In November 2007, Graham H. Graham was hired by Imperial as vice president of operations. He told the Employment and Workplace Safety subcommittee that on his first visit to the Port Wentworth plant he found a


Equipment at Imperial Sugar Co.’s Port Wentworth plant in 2006 covered in combustible sugar dust.

…dirty and dangerous facility. The refinery was littered with discarded materials, piles of sugar dust, puddles of liquid sugar and airborne sugar dust. Electrical motors and controls were encrusted with solidified sugar, while safety covers and doors were missing from live electrical switchgear and panels. A combustible environment existed.



Read more: http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/29/senate-hearings-show-deadly-sugar-blast-was-waiting-to-happen/

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[dipsydoodle]

1. Same used to happen

in cotton mills.

[clarence swinney]

2. OSHA where were you?

I experienced same type danger.

Wood Dust was so bad I ws afraid a spark or a match would set off an explosion. 800 in plant.

VP ignored me.

I called Osha and they acted promptly.

[elehhhhna]

3. how many years ago did this happen to you?

methinks osha's been stripped in the past few.