Incident Report

Subject:                        CSB Investigates Florida Fatal Explosion

Date of Email reporting Incident:   Wed 19/12/2007

Report Detail:

Washington, DC, December 19, 2007 - A board member and six-person investigation team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) are deploying to the scene of a fatal explosion and fire at a chemical plant which occurred today in Jacksonville, Florida.
The team is expected to arrive on site mid-morning Thursday to begin its investigation at T2 Labs, a company that produces octane-enhancing additives for gasoline. According to media reports, three people were killed and several injured in the blast, which was felt several miles away.

CSB Board Member Gary Visscher will accompany a team headed by Lead Investigator Robert Hall, and investigators Johnnie Banks, Francisco Altamirano, Jeffrey Wanko, Mary Nikityn and Lucy Sciallo.

The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.
The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. Visit our website, www.csb.gov.

Three Dead: Environmentally Friendly Chemical Plant Explodes in Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Florida, December 19, 2007 (ENS) - Three workers were killed by an explosion today at a chemical plant in Jacksonville that manufactures environmentally friendly industrial chemicals.  The blast occurred at the T2 Laboratories on Faye Road in an industrial district on the waterfront in north Jacksonville. The explosion sent a thick cloud of black smoke over the area that could be seen from the city's downtown business district.

More than 70 firefighters and every hazardous materials crew in Jacksonville attended the scene of the explosion.  People within a half mile radius of the lab were evacuated. The evacuation order was lifted just after 4 pm local time after the fire was under control and air tests showed no hazardous chemicals. Fire and rescue personnel confirm that three people were killed and more than a dozen others were taken to area hospitals. At first, six people were thought to be missing, but three have been locate, said fire rescue spokesman Tom Francis. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board will be investigating the incident. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office homicide unit also has begun an investigation.

T2 Laboratories manufactures low environmental impact specialty chemicals that replace conventional industrial chemicals. The company makes Ecotane® - a manganese-based octane improver for gasoline that reduces tailpipe emissions used by refineries and gasoline blenders. The additive is EPA-approved for use in the United States, and is used in more than 70 other countries. T2 Labs specializes in the manufacture of specialty terpene solvents from citrus and pine-derived feedstocks.

The company also manufactures a number of limonene-type solvents from turpentine, the essential oil of the pine tree. Another of the company's solvents is made of d-limonene, a by-product of citrus oil processing used for wipe-cleaning in aerospace applications. And T2 Labs makes a paraffin remover for oil and gas wells that it claims on its website "removes blockages and improves flow dramatically without exposing workers to hazardous chemicals." The company also makes biorational pesticides, derived from a variety of biological sources, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. They are considered third-generation pesticides that are environmentally sound and closely resemble chemicals produced by insects and plants.