The U.S. Chemical Safety Board this week said that an overheated pump likely led to a fatal explosion in Florida last summer — and that industrial gas distributor Airgas could have done more to prevent the incident.
The CSB investigation into the August blast at the Airgas plant in Cantonment, Fla., found that the pump used to transfer nitrous oxide from a storage tank into a shipping container became too hot and triggered an explosive chemical reaction, the Pensacola News Journal reports.
Nitrous oxide — or "laughing gas" — is harmless at room temperature but can be combustible if it becomes hot enough to break down into nitrogen and oxygen.
Jesse Folmar, who was filling the tanker at the plant in Cantonment, Fla., was killed in the August 2016 blast. He was 32.
The explosion also led to the continued shutdown of the Cantonment plant — one of just a handful in the U.S. that produce nitrous oxide for the medical, chemical manufacturing and food sectors — and prompted worries of a shortage of the gas.
"Our top priority is the safety of our associates, customers, and the communities in which we operate," the company said in a statement, according to the News Journal. "We deeply regret the tragic loss of life, damage and disruption caused by the incident."
The CSB report said that Airgas failed to apply standards designed to prevent nitrous oxide explosions, implemented safeguards that were likely ineffective and did not consider an alternative system that would eliminate the need for the potentially dangerous pump.
Officials, however, noted that Airgas was cooperating with the investigation and already implemented some of the agency's recommendations.
"Safety management systems standards are critical to identify, evaluate and control process safety hazards," said CSB Chairwoman Vanessa Allen Sutherland. "This tragedy in Cantonment should not be repeated."