KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released an update on its investigation into a deadly chemical emergency at a Catalyst Refiners facility that occurred in April.
The chemical emergency occurred on April 22 at the Ames Goldsmith Corporation’s Catalyst Refiners Inc. facility in Institute.
After the release of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, the board said two employees died and four were seriously injured.
The board said a chemical reaction occurred and produced highly toxic vapors during the transfer of chemicals into a wastewater receiving tank in connection with decommissioning activities at the facility.
TEAM COVERAGE: 2 dead, 1 in critical condition, at least 30 injured after chemical emergency
In a statement Thursday afternoon, the CSB said:
“As part of the decommissioning process, employees were disposing of various chemicals that were still onsite. Two chemicals — A-50(a proprietary calcium chloride solution used as a coagulant) and M-2000A(a proprietary sodium trithiocarbonate solution used as a metal precipitant) — were used to recover silver from the facility’s wastewater. A third chemical, nitric acid, was used in the reclamation process. Catalyst Refiners did not have a written procedure for disposing of these chemicals through the wastewater treatment system.”
The CSB also said employees first pumped roughly 80 gallons of A-50 and 275 gallons of M-2000A from their storage containers into a wastewater receiving tank. Then, the employees began pumping diluted nitric acid from a tote into the same tank.
As the nitric acid was being pumped into the wastewater tank, the employees saw a chemical reaction occurring and a fog forming over the tank, the board said.
The board said the employee who was operating the pump stopped the flow of nitric acid into the tank, went outside to get some fresh air, and then passed out. They said the employee regained consciousness.
The CSB also said a supervisor who had been made aware of the issue with the chemicals approached the tank area and also lost consciousness.
Two additional employees who were not involved in the chemical transfer also entered the area to help, the CSB said.
The board said one of these employees pulled the unconscious supervisor away from the tank area.
The CSB said the supervisor recovered, but the employee who had come to help the supervisor, as well as the one who entered the area, were both overcome by the vapors coming from the tank and later died.
Emergency responders were able to detect hydrogen sulfide at the facility, and a shelter-in-place order was issued for an area within one mile of the facility, according to the board.
The board said 22 personnel, including four responders, were decontaminated at the site and 18 were taken to local medical facilities for evaluation.
The CSB said they found four full-face respirators at the facility, but they were not equipped with filters that would protect against hazardous gases like hydrogen sulfide.
Workers at the facility also told the CSB that respirator use was no longer required after the facility transitioned from production to decommissioning.
The board said they also found that Catalyst Refiners did not provide or require employees or contractors to use personal gas monitors.
CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said, “This tragic incident underscores the need to have clear procedures and safely manage the serious chemical hazards that can arise during facility decommissioning. Although the CSB’s investigation is still ongoing, we are concerned that Catalyst Refiners did not require employees to wear respirators during decommissioning and also never provided or required workers to use personal gas monitors that might have alerted them to the presence of the highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas.”
The CSB said they will continue to analyze several key issues further, including:
- Chemical hazards and incompatibilities
- Decommissioning hazard analysis
- Chemical disposal procedures
- Personal protective equipment and atmospheric monitoring
- Corporate governance and oversight
The CSB’s investigation is still ongoing.
Previous coverage can be found here.
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