In New Madrid, Missouri on Tuesday, a molten metal explosion occurred at Noranda Aluminum, and has since prompted OSHA to investigate. Furthermore, the explosion happened at the cast house portion of the plant, and according to the OSHA spokeswoman, she is now in the process of interviewing workers and assessing the damage.
Now, OSHA will be deciding whether or not the plant has violated any safety rules or regulations. If Noranda is cited, OSHA has six months to do so, and the same amount of time to decide if they will pay any penalties.
At the time of the explosion there were 400 people at the plant, and nearly 20 inside where the workplace accident happened. OSHA has since reported that 33 employees were hurt in the workplace blast; one treated for smoke inhalation and 32 for eye and ear irritation. Luckily there were no fatalities. Thus far all factors point to the workplace explosion to be accidental as a result of the molten aluminum coming in contact with water. An investigation is pending.
If you or a loved one was injured in a workplace accident, we can help. Please contact the skilled St. Louis personal injury attorneys at Meyerkord & Kurth today for a free consultation.