It is unknown how long the investigations will take into the cause of a Saturday explosion that killed one man and injured three others inside a US Ecology building about 50 miles south of Boise, Idaho.
State and federal agencies declined to comment Tuesday on the expected length of their investigations and on what might have caused the explosion that started a fire and punched holes in the roof of the building that processed barrels of hazardous wastes prior to burial at the 328-acre site site near Grand View, Idaho.
The explosion occurred during a routine process in the building, according to a US Ecology press release.
US Ecology employee Monte “Alex” Green, 48, of Grand View, was an equipment operator moving material when the explosion occurred at 9:23 a.m Saturday. He died later from his injuries, the company said in a news release. Three more were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Fifteen people were at the site when the explosion occurred.
“This is a tragedy that has been felt through the entire US Ecology family and the darkest day in US Ecology’s 66- year history,” Jeff Feeler , the company’s chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. “The entire US Ecology family extends its deepest, heartfelt sympathy to the employees, family members, and loved ones affected by this tragic event. Our focus will now be helping our team members cope with this loss while conducting a thorough investigation and working with authorities as they close out their own investigation.”
The site is a lined landfill that holds hazardous and non-hazardous solid wastes covered by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, said Albert Crawshaw, waste and remediation manager for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
The only radioactive materials at the site are those covered by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission exemptions such as for watches, radiation-measuring devices, smoke detectors, mild radioactive medicines, and similar products.
The Idaho DEQ, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and US Ecology are investigating the accident. So far, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing technical assistance at the site, but has not decided yet whether it will start its own investigation, an agency spokesman said.
Investigators are trying to determine if contaminated fumes escaped from the building, and if workers were exposed to them, Crawshaw said.
