Explosion at Scrap Plant Kills One

An explosion tore through a scrap metals factory Friday, Jan. 25, in an industrial area outside Philadelphia, killing one worker and injuring more than a dozen others, officials said. The scrap facility, Hi-Temp Specialty Metals, is located in Willingboro, N.J.

John Carroll, Willingboro emergency management coordinator, confirmed the death. He said seven people were sent to hospitals, and a few other workers were treated by paramedics outside the Hi-Temp Specialty Metals Inc. No identities were immediately released.

Fifteen to 25 people had been inside the building when the blast occurred about 9:30 a.m. Damage was visible in the building's roof and exterior.

The exposition happened in an acid bath and caused an "acid plume," said Rachel Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. Hamilton said the explosion had caused an "acid plume," but she had no further details.

Carroll said air monitoring equipment set up outside the factory had not detected any air quality problems.

Carol Macaluso, who works nearby, said her building shook with the explosion at the factory, in an industrial area about 10 miles northeast of downtown Philadelphia. "We ran outside and saw flames shooting up from the building," she said.

Three men were being treated for burns and fractures, Rancocas Hospital spokesman Scott Share said. He said several others had been taken to a medical trauma center in Camden.

"There's an acid bath explosion" inside the plant, said Rachel Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"There appears to be one fatality," Hamilton said. A broadcast report also said one person had been killed.

She said DEP did not know whether the explosion had caused any contamination outside the plant site. The department immediately sent an emergency response team to the scene. Associated Press