West Palm Beach, Fla. — New England Fertilizer Co. (NEFCO) has a team of investigators on the scene here to determine the cause of an explosion at the biosolid fertilizer plant Tuesday morning, Jan. 24. One employee, identified as a chief operator, was transported for observation as a precaution and later reported out of the hospital and in good condition. “Operations are down and the facility will not be restarted until the cause of the explosion has been determined,” NEFCO spokeswoman Virginia Grace told Green Markets. She said General Manager Jim Sullivan is heading up the investigation and has been joined by others from the corporate office at North Quincy, Mass., and outside consultants from all over the country. A NEFCO statement reported, “An explosion inside the building took place while the plant was shut down for routine maintenance and cleaning.” There were no community or environmental impacts associated with the event. Sullivan said at this time the company is unable to provide any further specifics, as it is in the process of developing a comprehensive incident report to determine the cause. “We will not commence operations at this facility until we completely understand the situation, and we will not put the safety of any of our employees in jeopardy at this plant until all safety issues are resolved.” In the meantime, NEFCO has invoked a back-up plan to manage biosolids for the Solid Waste Authority while the processing facility is temporarily shut down. Grace added that any damage caused by the explosion appears to be confined to one of two process trains. Pending the outcome of the investigation, it is possible one train will be back in operation by the end of the week, Jan. 28. West Palm Beach city spokesman Chase Scott told the local press the explosion was forceful enough to blow off heavy metal doors. West Palm Beach Fire-Rescue was called to the plant at about 5:15 a.m. Scott said three people were on the job at the time and that the explosion happened during a routine maintenance and cleaning while the plant was shut down, but it is unclear whether that procedure sparked the event. "There’s some significant damage," he said. "They have large, heavy industrial doors on the east and west sides. They were peeled up or blown off by the explosion." The waste treatment plant produces pelletized biosolids for use as fertilizer.
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