Report: Danvers factory had double amount of flammable chemicals
By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
The Danvers factory that exploded in November 2006 had been storing at least twice the amount of flammable chemicals than had been authorized by the town, according to a report released today by the state fire marshal.
The 19-page report said the two companies jointly operating in the facility, CAI INC./Arnel Co. Inc., were approved by the town to store a total of 12,000 gallons of flammables on the Danversport property. However, the companies had a total of 24,000 gallons in underground tanks, mixing vats, and 55-gallon drums inside the factory and on its grounds.
“This capacity was at least twice the maximum licensed capacity,’’ State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said in the report.
The report also said that the companies were storing nitrocellulose, a flammable solid that requires a special license when more than 100 pounds are kept on site. “The existing license contained no provision for the storage of flammable solids,’’ Coan’s office said.
At the request of the Danvers Fire Department, Coan’s office has issued four civil violations against the two companies, according to the report. The violations include a total of $400 in fines.
W. Paul Needham, the attorney for plant owner and operator CAI, Inc., disputed the conclusions. He said the state investigation assumes both that the tanks were completely full all the time and that they were always filled with flammable materials. That was not the case in reality, he said. The companies shipped 2,500 gallons daily, cutting into the total volume of chemicals on site every day.
"They take the capacity of every tank, and it's a rare day when every tank is full,'' Needham said. "To say every one of them was full to the brim with flammable hazardous material, I think that's unwarranted.''
Needham said the company is negotiating with authorities over the citations. He said the companies were properly licensed and permitted and had undergone periodic inspections by the Danvers Fire Department and private insurance companies before the explosion. "Nobody ever raised any issue,'' he said.
Investigators had previously concluded that the explosion on Nov. 22, 2006, was caused when a vat of heptane overheated, causing a buildup of flammable vapors that found an ignition source and detonated. The early morning blast injured 20 people, destroyed 19 buildings and 300 motor vehicles, and damaged or destroyed 65 boats.
The report issued today also made broad recommendations for improving public safety near factories that use chemicals during manufacturing. It called for updates in the state building and fire codes, heightened vigilance by local officials, improved training of fire and building inspectors, and annual inspections of factories by fire departments before licenses are renewed. The report also urged the state to expand the fire marshal's office and hire personnel to oversee factories that use chemicals in manufacturing.
Since the explosion, tensions have grown between Coan’s office and the US Chemical Safety Board as each side has accused the other of refusing to cooperatively investigate one of the largest industrial accidents in the state’s history. The mutual frustration surfaced again today as Coan insisted in the report that the federal investigators have not shared their conclusions with him in a timely way.
Daniel Horowitz, spokesman for the Chemical Safety Board, said in a statement that the federal agency's report will be released in May. "We anticipate the report will also propose specific recommendations, at the national and state level, for preventing similar accidents at facilities in Massachusetts and elsewhere,'' he said. He said the agency has been in contact with Coan's office, but is supposed to produce an independent investigation.
