Airgas has been fined $12,000 after a 2016 explosion killed an employee.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated the Aug. 28 incident where 32-year-old Jesse Folmar was killed at Airgas' Cantonment, FL facility. According to reports, Folmar was transferring liquid nitrous oxide between tanks at a loading dock in the Ascend Performance Materials, when the explosion occured.
Airgas is a distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases as well as a line of safety products, welding equipment and specialty tools. The Ascend plant supplies a mixture of gases to the Airgas plant, which Airgas uses to make nitrous oxide.
Following review of the incident, OSHA concluded Airgas "did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees."
According to OSHA, the Cantonment facility is no longer in opperation after being destroyed in the explosion. The citation states that Airgas must implement safety controls, or undergo a technical review, before operations can be restarted in Cantonment or a nearby facility in Mississippi. A hard deadline of March 16 was also issued to the company to address safety issues.