Industrial Accident Lawyer Blog

Recently, the Chemical Safety Board released its Investigation Report related to the refinery explosion and Georgia workplace injuries which occurred as the Savannah Foods refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia on February 7, 2008. The report is 84 pages long, and outlines, in detail, the problems with the Imperial refinery which led to the blast.

The Chemical Safety Board report not only discuss the vast safety problems caused by the Imperial entities, but also discusses, and blames, other companies for contributing to the conditions which caused explosion. The American Institute of Baking provides audits and training on both food safety and occupational safety. According to the CSB, the AIB would assess the operations and practices of the Port Wentworth refinery and issue a participation certificate when the Imperial entities passed the audit. In May of 2007, the AIB issued a "superior" rating. AIB was well positioned, according to the CSB, to help the Imperial entities, its member companies, become informed about the hazards of combustible dust and could revise its training materials to include more information about the dangers of combustible dust.

The Flynn Law Firm is one of the Georgia worker injury attorneys currently representing workers injured in the Imperial disaster, and has learned about the details of the refinery explosion during the last year of litigation with certain Imperial entities.

A judge has ordered that OSHA attorneys have the right to question Imperial Sugar executives and former employees about the February 7, 2008 refinery explosion in Port Wentworth, Georgia. OSHA lawyers submitted evidence that the witnesses who have been previously deposed have relevant information and should be questioned again. OSHA will likely focus on whether the alleged OSHA violations, which caused numerous Georgia workplace injuries and led to several Savannah workers' compensation claims, were "willful."

The United States Chemical Safety Board has released a video about the dangers of Combustible Dust and how such dust can cause Refinery Explosions and workplace accidents. Combustible dust fires and explosions continue to occur frequently, despite the well known risk combustible dust poses to workers. An excess of combustible sugar dust at the Imperial refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia caused that facility to explode, killing 14 and injuring dozens more.

On September 24, 2009, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigaion Board (CSB) issued its investigation report related to the Imperial Sugar refinery explosion which occurred on February 7, 2008. There are a number of refinery explosion lawyers currently pursing claims against certain companies related to this explosion, and this report is a groudbreaking development in that litigation.

The CSB, in its detailed report, determined that the dust explosion began in an enclosed steel belt conveyor located beneath the sugar silos at the refinery. This enclosure allowed explosive sugar dust to accumulate. When an unknown source ignited the accumulated sugar dust, an explosion occurred.

Continue reading "Imperial Sugar faulted for Refinery Explosion" »

According to news reports, a consultant warned Imperial Sugar about combustible dust hazards at its Georgia refinery just two days before a deadly explosion devastated the plant near Savannah.

The Savannah Morning News reports that consultant McAljon Engineering warned of impaired dust collection systems at the refinery in a report dated Feb. 5, 2008. A huge explosion rocked the plant two days later, killing 14 and injuring scores more. Many of the injured workers sufferred devastating third-degree burns.

OSHA later blamed the explosion on sugar dust that ignited like gunpowder. Fourteen workers died and dozens more were injured. Had Imperial followed even the most basic housekeeping standards, the refinery explosion could have been avoided.

OSHA said last year that its investigation revealed Imperial knew about the hazards of cimbustible dust since 2002.