Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302651674 - Essex Group, Inc. Dba Essex Brownell

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Charlotte

Investigation Summary

Two employees were working late at the facility preparing a Department of Transportation (DOT) Hazardous Waste Inventory for a shipment of hazardous waste which was to be picked up the following morning. Several cardboard containers containing four 1-gallon plastic containers of methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) were contaminated on the exterior of the cardboard containers with MEKP. The cardboard containers were visibly contaminated with the product, and could not be shipped per DOT regulations. Therefore, the two employees placed these cardboard containers in a 55-gallon steel drum. The drum had been purchased from a local distributor, and still had residual cutting fluid in the drum. The MEKP reacted with the cutting fluid and started a fire. One appropriately trained employee attempted to fight the fire with an extinguisher, and realized that the fire was beyond incipient stage. The local fire department was called and they evacuated the building. The two employees were sent to a local hospital emergency room for evaluation and were released without treatment.

Keywords: DRUM, FIRE, HYDRAULIC FLUID, HAZARDOUS WASTE