Date: April 4, 2020
Location: Plum Borough, Pennsylvania (USA)
Address: 1967 Eastern Avenue, 15147
Type: Dust Explosion
Fuel: Titanium and Calcium Powder
Industry: Steel Manufacturing (Metal Working)
Equipment: Chemical Processing Machine
Company: Affival Inc.
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: Three Injured
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, Affival Inc. is a steel manufacturer that specializes in the treatment of liquid steel. It has sales and/or production sites in the US, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Founded in 1984, Affival Inc.’s product line includes calcium bearings, aluminum rods, carbon, sulphur, iron, lead, bismuth, and other types of cored wires.
Incident Description:
On April 5, 2020, KDKA2 reported an explosion and fire at a steel manufacturer in Plum Borough, Pennsylvania.
According to the Unity Volunteer Fire Department, workers inside the facility were dealing with a combination of titanium and calcium powder. A machine with both of these chemicals inside caught fire and exploded.
About a dozen people were inside of the facility at the time and evacuated. They called Allegheny County Dispatch to report the incident as well as the type of chemicals involved so firefighters could be aware of the hazards.
The machine’s suppressor system helped to prevent the spread of the fire. Fire crews had the fire contained in about 45 minutes.
Three workers were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening inhalation-related injuries. The Fire Marshall is investigating the cause.
OSHA Inspections:
An establishment search turned up one OSHA inspection dated February 15 2017, that was flagged for combustible dust.
Sources:
KDKA2 CBS Pittsburgh
