CSB Concludes Field Phase of T2 Blast Investigation in Jacksonville, FL - Higher Number of Offsite Injuries Found

Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) concluded the initial field investigation of the fatal accident at T2 Laboratories Inc. Among investigators' findings thus far is that that the number of people injured was more than double what was known immediately after the accident.

Investigators say that 33 people were injured in the massive explosion and fire at the Jacksonville, Florida, chemical plant on December 19. Many of these injuries resulted from flying and falling debris due to structural damage to offsite buildings. The team plans to return to Washington, DC, later today to continue the investigation of the causes of the accident.

The explosion resulted in the death of four workers; preliminary findings indicate that the accident occurred as a result of a runaway chemical reaction during the production of a gasoline additive called methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MCMT or Ecotane). The loss of control of the reaction probably occurred during the first step of the process where more than half a ton of metallic sodium was reacted in a steel vessel with other raw materials, producing hydrogen gas as a byproduct. T2 is a small company with about a dozen employees and the single production site in Jacksonville.

The reactor eventually overpressured and ruptured at a pressure of several thousand pounds per square inch. The contents of the reactor immediately ignited creating a fireball and mushroom cloud rising approximately 2000 feet high.

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