United States. The sudden fire that burned seven workers, one seriously, at a U.S. ink plant in New Jersey in 2012 was due to the accumulation of flammable dust inside a poorly designed dust collection system, which had been put into operation just four days before the accident, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigation.
The investigation concluded that the system was so flawed that it only took a day to accumulate enough flammable dust and hydrocarbons in the ducts to overheat, spontaneously catch fire, cause an explosion in the rooftop dust collector, and send a flash of fire that engulfed seven workers.
U.S. Ink manufactures black and color inks in seven locations in the U.S., including East Rutherford. A key step in its ink production process is the blending of fine solid particles, such as pigments and binders, with liquid oils in stirred tanks.
The CSB found that the duct network carried flammable condensable vapors over each of the three tanks in the mixing room, combining with flammable particles of black carbon powder and gilsonite used in the production of black ink.
