Salem News
Plant had twice legal limit of chemicals
By Tom Dalton
Staff writer
DANVERS — The two companies inside the Danversport factory that blew up in November 2006, resulting in millions of dollars in property damage, were storing twice the amount of hazardous and flammable material as their license allowed, a state investigation concluded.
Ink manufacturer CAI Inc. and paint maker Arnel Co. Inc. were licensed to hold 12,000 gallons of chemicals but had installed tanks, containers and drums that could hold at least 24,000 gallons, according to a report released yesterday by the office of State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan.
"Clearly, from our investigation, we can document the fact there was considerably more flammables stored on that site than their license allowed," Coan said. As a result of that, he said, "The town was not aware of the type of work being done there."
Click here to view the Fire marshal's report.
One neighbor praised the fire marshal for the report, which provided details of alleged storage violations, pointed to shortcomings in government oversight and put forth recommendations for making chemical plants safer.
"I was glad to see (the storage violations) in writing because we suspected it," Danvers resident Susan Tropeano said. "Everybody needs to start paying a lot more attention to this type of company, and this is one step that is going to make that happen."
Both CAI and Arnel were fined $400 for the violations. It is the maximum allowed under state law, but insignificant compared to the losses suffered by neighbors, businesses and insurance companies, an official said.
"Whether it was $4,000 or $40,000, it would not do justice to the disruption in people's lives," Danvers Town Manager Wayne Marquis said.
Coan said his office has taken out a complaint in Northeast Housing Court against both Arnel and CAI for the storage violations.
CAI spokeswoman Cheryl McLarney said the company has not seen the report and had no comment. The Salem News was not able to reach a spokesman for Arnel.
In its "most important" recommendation, the fire marshal's office has proposed a new law and regulations to address what appears to be a glaring gap in state and local oversight of manufacturing plants — the processing and storage of hazardous chemicals.
"I don't think we really had a handle on how destructive some of these chemicals could be," Danvers fire Chief James Tutko said.
The state Department of Fire Services, which includes the fire marshal's office, already has filed legislation that would require plants to obtain a chemical users certificate to store or process hazardous chemicals. There also are recommendations for independent safety audits of chemical facilities and adding chemical safety experts to the fire marshal's office who would review the audits and assist local fire departments.
The legislation has been reported on favorably by the House Committee on Public Safety and is before the House Ways and Means Committee, Coan said.
The report did not cite safety violations by the companies in the handling or processing of chemicals. Those findings are beyond the scope of this report, Coan said, and are expected to come in May when the U.S. Chemical Safety Board issues its final report.
"They are the agency that has the expertise," Coan said. "... While they have been unwilling to share their results with us to date, I do hope their report will shed further light and be a guide to us."
The CSB, which came to Danvers right after the blast, said it is legally required to do independent investigations but will share its findings once the report is done.
In a preliminary report last year, the CSB said the companies ignored federal and state safety regulations and were using equipment that lacked safeguards. The explosion was caused by the buildup of vapors inside the plant and could have been prevented if the plant's ventilation system had not been shut down at night, the CSB found.
In its own findings, the fire marshal also pointed to human error, concluding a worker failed to shut off a steam-heat system warming the chemicals in a mixing tank.
In yesterday's report, the fire marshal also recommended that local communities do more thorough inspections of stored chemicals, a step already being taken by the Danvers Fire Department. Prior to the explosion, the Fire Department was required to do only a safety egress inspection but had failed to do that for several years, records showed.
The state also has initiated a series of training sessions for municipal officials to review licensing regulations and procedures.
The fire marshal also issued a citation and $100 fine to Richard C. Thomas, a plumber from South Hamilton, for installing oil tanks at the plant without a permit. The Salem News was not able to contact Thomas.
Tutko said the recommendations in this report, if they are adopted, will make chemical plants and the public a lot safer.
"I think it found flaws in our system at both the local and state governments, and I think they realize it has to be fixed," the fire chief said.
Staff writer Ethan Forman contributed to this report.
Danversport explosion
Date: Nov. 22, 2006
Location: 128 Rear Water St.
Injuries: 20
Buildings damaged: 250
Buildings destroyed: 19
Vehicles damaged*: 300
Boats damaged*: 65
* These figures also include boats and vehicles that were destroyed.
Source: State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan
