Dive Brief:
- Officials are trying to secure a metal recycling plant in Granite City, IL after an explosion at Total Metal Recycling killed two people on Monday. The incident also left one other person injured.
- Bomb technicians were on-site after emergency personnel were unable to initially enter due to the concerns that there may have been additional explosives.
- The cause of the explosion has not been determined at this time. Total Metal Recycling has brought in authorities from the FBI, ATF, the IL secretary of state’s bomb squad, and an explosive ordinance disposal unit from Scott Air Force Base to the facility in order to assist those at the scene.
Dive Insight:
Total Metal Recycling recycles computers, vehicles, and ammunition. Authorities currently believe that a military mortar shell exploded on site.
Records from OSHA indicate that inspectors received eight complaints from Total Metal Recycling during the past five years. Fines were issued for three incidents that included respiratory protection and lead exposure violations.
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 people died on-site in the recycling industry in 2012. Workers in the wholesale recycling business were fatally injured at a rate of one out of every 5,714 full-time workers. Federal data indicates that explosions and fires account for a total of 3% of worker deaths, and that 42% of these fatalities are related to transportation.