Chief says propane buildup caused Spooner explosion
SPOONER, Wis. (AP) -- The Spooner fire chief says investigators have determined what caused a large explosion at a chemical plant that critically burned two workers.
Chief Darren Vik says problems with purging propane from a line led to the explosion March 18 at the Cortec Corp. plant in Spooner. The plant makes products for corrosion control.
Vik says in a news release that the explosion happened when an accumulation of the propane used as a propellant in aerosol cans ignited.
He says workers were trying to purge vapor from a pipe in the plant's gas house, but they had problems, which allowed gas to build up and drift into the production area where a worker was using an electric-power forklift that ignited the gas.
Vik says the forklift operator and another worker are recovering from their injuries.
Apr 26, 2008 at 1:57 p.m.
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That's the problem with VOCs and most flammable gases, they accumulate from the floor to about 30" and can ignite explosively after drifting around. All it takes is an outlet or a spark within that zone...
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