Attorneys for Christine Clark, the mother of 26-year-old Jeremiah "J.J." Spritz, the sole fatality in the Oct. 26, 2000, fire at MBA Polymers, reached an official agreement last week.
Clark's lawsuit solely blamed Blymer Engineers Inc. for Spritz's death. The Alameda, Calif.-based engineering firm designed a ventilation system for MBA Polymers after the plant decided to begin recycling highly combustible toner cartridges.
Blymer was "well aware of the hazards to employees of MBA Polymers caused by the combustible and potentially explosive nature of toner dust," the suit claimed.
Blymer designed the ventilation system for the Alpha line, which began operating in September 2000, the suit states.
After the startup of the line, it became clear to MBA Polymers that toner dust had not been filtered out or removed by Blymer's equipment, records show.
Blymer claimed to have made improvements to the line in early October. Spritz, a forklift operator, was killed during a toner dust explosion later that month. Blymer's improvements had not sufficiently removed the dust, the suit claimed.
Clark never blamed MBA Polymers; she believes they did what they could, Schwartz said. Contra Costa Times