Three dead following blast at biofuels plant in Nebraska

THREE people, including two young girls, died as a result of an explosion at a biofuels plant on Tuesday in Fremont, Nebraska, US.

Fremont mayor Joey Spellerberg confirmed in a briefing that the blast at the Horizon Biofuels plant, which manufactures wood pellets from wood waste for domestic heating and industrial use, was likely caused by a buildup of wood dust in the plant’s elevator tower.

Spellerberg also revealed that that the children were at the plant waiting for a relative, the other victim, to finish work before a doctor’s appointment.

The three had been missing since the explosion, but their bodies were recovered on Wednesday after firefighting crews had dealt with the blast for “more than 24 hours”.

Fremont fire chief Todd Bernt told those at the briefing that the plant, which is close to several food manufacturing sites, stored alcohol-based materials, reports CBS News.

Previous safety issues

Founded in 2006, Horizon Biofuels has ten employees, according to the Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership – a government body under the US Department of Commerce.

An incident occurred in 2014 at the plant, when its grain elevator caught fire, according to reports from the Fremont Tribune. This damaged the facility’s electrical system.

The Fremont Tribune  also reported that safety issues were identified in 2012 by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), which resulted in a US$6,000 penalty. These issues included the failure to ensure equipment could not be energised while employees were working on it, and that work areas around machinery were kept clean – specifically in relation to the accumulation of wood dust around a milling machine.

Wood dust hazard

The processing and handling of wood dust and wood-related biomass are significant fire and explosion hazards, with incidents increasing in line with a rise in the number of large-scale biomass installations.

Fiona Macleod, professor of process safety at the University of Sheffield and CTO of the IChemE Safety Centre, said: “It's too soon to know exactly what went wrong at the Horizon Biofuels plant in Nebraska, but I know from my own experience how difficult it is to handle wood pellets. When dry, wood dust disperses easily, settling and accumulating in hidden places like high beams and extraction systems.”

She added: “In bulk, if moist, wood pellets can self heat to the point of ignition. Inherent safety in design, excellent maintenance, and good operating practice are critical. Value your cleaning crews and give them the tools they need – housekeeping also matters.”