CSB Announces Investigation at TS USA

Today the Chemical Safety Board announcedannounced that it was investigating a fatal fire incident at a liquid nitriding facility in Chattanooga, TN that occurred last week. Today’s notice reports that:

“Four CSB investigators arrived on site at the TS USA facility today and have commenced investigative activities, including documentation of the incident site and interviews with facility employees.”

There is a brief description of the incident here. The Facebook page for the Chattanooga Fire Department reports:

“The fire was extinguished by workers with fire extinguishers. Firefighters arrived on the scene and immediately began patient care. Others went inside to make sure the fire was out. The company has a state-of-the-art salt bath nitriding line. Large cylinders contain a hot solution that reacts with water. It appears there was a chemical reaction, causing an explosion.”

There are now five current CSB investigations. The four other investigations are:

 

BP - Husky Oregon Chemical Release and Fire,

Honeywell Geismar Chlorine and Hydrogen Fluoride Release,

Dow Louisiana Operations Explosions, and

Martinez Renewable Fuels Fire