Date: March 24, 2023
Location: West Reading, Pennsylvania (USA)
Address: 77 South 2nd Avenue, 19611
Type: Potential Dust Explosion
Fuel: Confectioner’s Powder
Industry: Chocolate Making (Food Processing)
Equipment: Unknown
Company: R.M. Palmer Company
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: Seven Dead, Eight Injured
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to its website, R.M. Palmer Company is a confectionery company based in West Reading, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1948 and is best known for its chocolate products. The company produces a wide variety of chocolates and confections, including holiday-themed treats as well as everyday treats like chocolate bars and candies. Today, the R.M. Palmer Company employs 850 people and is one of the largest producers of seasonal chocolate products in the United States.
Incident Description:
On March 25, 2023, CBS News reported a huge explosion at a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania.
The explosion caused a massive inferno, with black smoke and flames rising hundreds of feet in the air, as seen in video footage captured at the scene.
Initial reports stated that three people were dead and others missing. Two days after the explosion, officials announced that four more bodies had been discovered in the rubble. The new fatalities brought the total death toll to seven, and all missing persons were then accounted for.
Three buildings around the explosion site were also condemned as a precaution, while ten individuals were hospitalized with injuries following the blast. On March 27, CBS News reported that six of them had already been discharged, and eight patients were admitted to Reading Hospital.
One survivor reported that she and some of her co-workers had complained about smelling gas before the explosion. Government officials also noted that numerous ingredients utilized in chocolate production, such as cocoa powder, flammable powdered starch, and other fine particles, pose explosive threats.
The cause is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
OSHA Inspections:
An establishment search turned up one OSHA inspection for R.M. Palmer Company in West Reading, but it was not flagged for combustible dust.
Sources:
CBS News (March 25)
CBS News (March 27)
The Militant
