Seven injured after New Jersey ink factory blast and fire
11 October 2012
Seven people have been treated for burns injuries following an explosion and fire at US Ink in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The factory makes newspaper ink and the injured were mixing volatile chemicals when a carbon compound ignited causing a fire in the ventilation system.
Many of the employees had their faces and bodies covered in a black soot-like substance, believed to be the carbon compound used in the manufacturing process.
Firemen quickly extinguished the blaze. A spokesman for parent company, Sun Chemical, said the explosion happened in the pre-mix room of the plant but that there was no danger of contamination to the neighbourhood. Gary Andrzejewski, Sun Chemical’s corporate vice president for environmental affairs, said they would be investigating all possible causes.
Fire Chief John Giancaspro said more than 20 workers were standing outside the plant when firefighters arrived. He said: 'There doesn’t seem to be any human error involved.'
A spokesman for parent company, Sun Chemical, said the explosion happened in the pre-mix room of the plant but that there was no danger of contamination to the surrounding neighbourhood
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration database, the company has been reported for safety violations at the plant in 1976, 1986 and 1989.