Pascagoula, Miss. — Mississippi Phosphates Corporation confirmed that an employee died during a maintenance procedure on May 21 at the company’s Gulf Coast fertilizer facility east of Pascagoula. The victim was identified as Jeffrey Simpson, 39, of Pascagoula, who died when some sort of machinery explosion occurred. The company said in a statement that the accidental death occurred in a portion of the plant that "was not operational and there is no threat to employees or the public." The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by County Coroner Vicki Broadus shortly after the explosion. An autopsy conducted by the coroner the next day attributed the death to head trauma. Mississippi Phosphates said it is currently in the investigation process, and will release more information as the investigation proceeds. "We are cooperating with all responding and investigating governmental and regulatory agencies," the company said. "At this point, our primary concern is with the family of the deceased and our other employees and their families." Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd told Green Markets that he didn’t know exactly what exploded, “but the man died as a result of shrapnel from the machine that blew up.” The regional OSHA office at Jackson said the agency had an inspector on the site shortly after the incident, and Regional Assistant Director Jesse Baynes said there will be a full investigation “as we do of all work-related fatalities.” Mississippi Phosphates’ manufacturing facilities in Pascagoula consist of two sulfuric acid plants, a phosphoric acid plant, and a DAP granulation plant. DAP production capacity at the site is approximately 850,000 st/y.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain