¶ … 2008 Imperial Sugar refinery explosion/Fire. Fire at Imperial Sugar Refinery

Background Info

On February 7, 2008, a massive fire and explosion took place at northwestern Savannah, Georgia's Imperial Sugar factory. The incident claimed the lives of no less than 14 individuals, and left 38 people injured; of these, 14 suffered life-threatening, acute burns. The blast was caused by enormous deposits of inflammable sugar dust all through the packaging unitManagement of the company ought to have been aware of the fact that explosions are likely to occur if the sugar refining process is enclosed. Comprehensive and precise information (in writing) on process chemicals, equipment, and technology is vital to a sound program for industrial process safety management (PSM) as well as hazard analysis of the process. The documented knowledge will be an indispensable resource to various users, including the personnel who carry out obligatory hazard analysis, mandated under PSM; personnel in charge of developing operating procedures and training programs; contractors whose workers work with the industrial process; individuals who perform reviews prior to startup; and local disaster preparedness planners, enforcement officials and insurance authorities (Process Safety Management Guidelines for Compliance, 1994).

OSHA Standards Violations

It was asserted by federal authorities that the Imperial Sugar Company must face a penalty of over 8.7 million dollars for violation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards at two of its plants, including the one at Georgia in which an explosion claimed...

The aforementioned figure is the third-largest fire in OSHA's almost four-decade-long history. The $8.7 million quoted fine includes 5 million dollars for the 2008 Georgia explosion and 3.7 million dollars for Imperial Sugar's Gramercy, Louisiana plant (Bynum, 2008).
Investigators from OSHA arrived at the conclusion that the explosion most likely occurred because of a spark caused by a huge bucket utilized for sugar-hauling purposes in one of the silo elevators broke free, striking its metal siding. The spark must have set fire to the sugar dust that was stored underneath the 100-foot storage towers. OSHA claims that its investigation unearthed insurance records, factory audits, and other records, which prove Imperial Sugar Company was warned concerning explosive dust risks in its factories since the year 2002. An inspection of Imperial Sugar's Gramercy plant one month following the incident in Georgia revealed personnel wading through 4-foot-deep sugar dust. Edwin Foulke, OSHA Chief, stated at a Savannah news conference that it would have been possible to avoid a catastrophe if the company had obeyed existing OSHA health and safety standards. The agency found no less than 120 violations of regulations against the refinery in Georgia, including 61 that were deemed shocking (Bynum, 2008). Further, in the Louisiana refinery, OSHA found 91 more violations, which include 47 that were egregious; several of the Louisiana unit's violations were akin to the Georgian violations.

Criminal Liability

Investigators from the safety board speculated company managers were reassured and complacent about a number of narrow…