Date: Match 14, 2018
Location: Johnson City, Tennessee (USA)
Address: 300 Boggs Lane, 37604
Type: Dust Explosion
Fuel: Unknown
Industry: Waste Processing
Equipment: Airbag Recycling Machine
Company: Lighting Resources LLC
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: One Dead, One Injured
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company’s website, Lighting Resources LLC is a national recycler of items like bulbs, batteries, and ballasts. It was founded in Ontario, California in 1989 and opened a ballast processing facility in Phoenix, Arizona five years later. Today, the company has locations in California, Indiana, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee.
The Johnson City location, which opened in August 2015, serves as an auto airbag and seatbelt pre-tensioner processing facility and a universal waste processing facility.
Incident Description:
On March 15, 2018, the Johnson City Press reported that a worker had been killed in an explosion at a bulb recycling plant in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Firefighters were en route to the business in response to a fire alarm when 911 calls came in from people who reported hearing a loud boom. One witness reported hearing two booms followed by a louder one. Debris could be seen in trees near the building and smoke could be seen rising in front of Buffalo Mountain.
The explosion, which happened at the back of the building, was felt by neighbors and workers at nearby businesses who reported feeling their buildings shake. One man said he felt the blast in his car.
Eight people were inside the building when the blast occurred. One person was killed and another sent to a local hospital with serious injuries. The facility was also damaged.
The fire department’s Urban Search and Rescue technical team used a tractor trailer to clear the area where the victim was located so that rescuers could enter. On March 19, the Johnson City Press identified the deceased worker as 46-year-old Paul Cash, who had been a machine specialist.
The company CEO confirmed that the explosion occurred in a room dedicated to airbag recycling. He said, “The airbag machine is still there… so it wasn’t the machine, it was something else.”
A benefit fund was set up for the injured employee and the family of Mr. Case.
Sources:
Johnson City Press (March 19)
Johnson City Press (March 15)
YouTube
