A federal safety board says a corroded steam pipe and a defective natural gas fitting caused a powerful explosion at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory, killing seven workers when the company failed to evacuate.
Cascading failures involving a corroded steam pipe and a defective natural gas fitting caused a powerful explosion in 2023 at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory, killing seven workers when the company failed to evacuate, a federal safety board said Tuesday.About 70 production workers and 35 office staff at R.M. Palmer Co. were working in two adjacent buildings at the time of the blast. Employees in both buildings told federal investigators they could smell gas before the explosion.
Gas then migrated underground and made its way into the basement of Palmer’s second building, where it exploded. Investigators couldn’t determine the ignition source.A UGI crew replacing gas lines in the area in 2021 — two years before the blast — was alerted to the presence of the steam pipe, but failed to notify the utility's safety managers so the pipe could be assessed for its impact on the gas fitting that ultimately failed, the five-member safety board found.
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