OSHA, Illinois EPA begin investigation at East St. Louis chemical fire site
OSHA has begun its investigation into the explosion and fire that injured two workers at a chemical plant in East St. Louis on Sunday, and the Illinois EPA plans to begin examining the site on Tuesday, agency officials said.
“OSHA will complete their investigation as soon as possible, but by law the agency has up to six months to complete it,” Scott Allen, an OSHA spokesman, said. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is part of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Allen said he cannot release any details until the investigation is complete.
An update on the condition of two workers injured in the Sunday night explosion and fire at Allnex USA Inc. on Missouri Avenue was unavailable. They were taken to the hospital Sunday night.
Allnex, which merged with Nuplex in 2016, produces adhesives, sealants and specialty coatings. It is located in the 2900 block of Missouri Avenue.
George McClellan, assistant chief of the East St. Louis Fire Department, said firefighters could see flames coming through the roof when they arrived at the building shortly after the fire was reported around 10 p.m.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation on Tuesday, according to the state fire marshal’s office.
Kim Biggs, a spokesperson for the Illinois EPA, said agency members could not gain access to the site Monday because of the OSHA investigation, but they were scheduled to return Tuesday.
``All of the water from the fire has been contained on site so it does not appear it’s impacted sanitary sewers,” she said. “They collected that water and it will be shipped off site for proper disposal. “
She said the water will be tested for asbestos, contaminants and chemicals from the explosion.
Firefighters knew the chemical in the tank that caught fire was “water solvent,” McClellan said. They had to use heavy streams of water to put out the fire, he said.
Herb Simmons, director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Service, confirmed he was able to get a drone from the Sheriff’s Department to fly over the chemical plant to survey the situation after the explosion.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 6:07 PM.
