Incident Report Subject: CSB Releases New Safety Video - Flash Fires at Hoeganaes Corp. in Gallatin, Tennessee, Killing Five Date of Email report: Fri 06/01/2012 Report Detail:
“Iron in the Fire” begins with a poignant remark by Christina Sherburne, wife of one of the workers killed at Hoeganaes, who spoke at a CSB public meeting on the investigation. Referring to her son and the aftermath of the accident that fatally injured her husband, Wiley Sherburne, she says, “Everything was changed that morning. And when Cody and I got to the hospital the first thing the doctors told us walking in the door was he was burned 95% of his body, and ‘we don’t think he’s going to make it.’ There’s nothing you can say to that.” At a news conference in Tennessee on May 11, the CSB released laboratory test results demonstrating the combustibility of even small amounts of the iron dust when dispersed in air in the presence of an ignition source. But as the video notes, despite the CSB evidence, and the company’s own test results done previously, the company did not institute adequate dust control measures or after-the-fact housekeeping cleanup measures. CSB Lead Investigator Johnnie Banks says in the video, “It is a tragedy that five lives were lost at Hoeganaes from these accidents. The CSB believes that adhering to recommended industry practices will greatly reduce the potential of a future dust fire or explosion.” “Iron in the Fire” is the 28th safety video produced by the CSB. All are based on actual CSB investigation findings, determinations of root causes, and safety recommendations. The CSB has distributed free of charge to stakeholders over 100,000 DVD’s, and online downloads and streams of the videos on CSB.gov and on YouTube.com/USCSB total well over one million. They continue to garner awards, the latest being three at the Television, Internet & Video Association of Washington, DC Peer Awards Ceremony in November 2011. “Fire in the Valley,” about the Bayer CropScience explosion won a bronze award for computer animation; “No Escape,” about the Xcel Energy tunnel fire, won a bronze award for education and training videos, and “ Deadly Practices,” about the ConAgra and Kleen energy explosions, won a silver award for education and training videos. The CSB video program was specifically cited when the CSB was named the 2008 recipient of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Howard Fawcett Award, honoring “outstanding contributions in the field of chemical health and safety,” marking the first time the 25-year-old award has been presented to an entire organization. The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious 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.
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