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player ready...At 9:30 p.m. on the evening of May 3, much of Lake County heard or felt a blast from the Waukegan area.
In that instant, the AB Specialty Silicones plant at Sunset and Northwestern avenues in Waukegan exploded, killing four workers and destroying the facility.
Since then, memorial services gave way to investigations, and in October, a $1.6 million fine was levied against the company by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
OSHA officials said the fine was due to “12 willful federal safety violations” by the company following an investigation into the explosion.
In addition, OSHA placed the silicon chemical products manufacturer in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
In addition to the Waukegan Fire Department, other agencies, including OSHA and the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, as well as private investigators working for insurance companies involved in the legal aftermath of the explosion, have been part of the investigation.
OSHA investigators determined AB Specialty Silicones failed to ensure that electrical equipment and installations in the production area of the plant complied with OSHA electrical standards, and that they were approved for hazardous locations, the statement said.
“The company also used forklifts powered by liquid propane to transport volatile flammable liquids, and operated these forklifts in areas where employees handled and processed volatile flammable liquids and gases, creating the potential for ignition,” the OSHA statement added.
“Employers must employ hazard recognition to protect workers from harm, especially in high hazard industries,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt. “By ignoring safety and health requirements, this employer created an unsafe work environment with deadly consequences.”
In response, AB Specialty Silicones issued a statement saying that it has been cooperating with the investigation, and will continue to work with OSHA and other investigators, but strongly denied that there was anything willful about the explosion.
“It is important to recognize the scope of the OSHA report goes beyond the elements that contributed to the tragic explosion,” the statement said. “Our internal investigation, as well as the Fire Marshal’s report, confirmed the incident was in fact an accident, and there was no willful intent involved.”
The Waukegan Fire Department’s role in investigating the explosion wrapped up by the end of summer, and Fire Marshal Steve Lenzi said a conclusive cause for the blast has not been nailed down, and might never be.
“From a municipal standpoint, we’re ruling out intentional causes,” Lenzi said in August, adding that he is also confident that investigators have determined the point of origin of the explosion in the plant.
But as far as an exact cause, Lenzi said local investigators have been unable to pinpoint that.
Lenzi noted that the closest witnesses to the incident cannot be interviewed, unfortunately, because they did not survive the blast, or died soon after.
Killed in the explosion were workers Byron Biehn, Jeff Cummings, Allen Stevens and Daniel Nicklas, according to authorities.
Lenzi said that while Waukegan investigators have found no conclusive cause for the explosion, it is always possible one of the agencies, which have conducted some testing at the site, might come up with something new. Insurance investigators also might make findings.
According to Lenzi, from a legal standpoint, the groups are required to share information and findings with each other, increasing the chances that something could break with regard to the cause.
“But our role in the investigation is all but completely done,” he said.
In addition to the loss of four lives, the plant was a total loss, and city officials estimated that about $1 million in collateral damage occurred in the area near the blast.
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