Following the explosion at the West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. plant in Kinston, N.C. on Wednesday, The Daily Herald talked with Ivan Riggle, the site compliance manager for Albemarle Corporation\u2019s Tyrone plant.
\nInvestigators developed a theory on what caused the deadly explosion at the medical supply plant even before they could douse a lingering rubber fire and go inside the twisted ruins.
\nDust generated in the course of making rubber could have formed a combustible cloud that erupted at the plant, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said Thursday.
\nThe blast shot flames and debris high into the air and shook buildings miles away Wednesday afternoon. Of about 130 people inside the plant, three were killed and 15 remained hospitalized late Thursday \u2013 10 of them in critical condition.
\nThe Tyrone plant of Albemarle works hand-in-hand with the Blair County Office of Emergency Management to plan for any possible emergency.
\n\u201cWe have a PPC plan,\u201d said Riggle. \u201cThe plan is preparedness, prevention and continuency. We list everything that happens inside the plant.\u201d
\nFor years, there has been a community advisory board that helps guide the company in ways that benefit the community.
\n\u201cWe have had a community advisory committee since 1990,\u201d said Riggle. \u201cThere are 15 members on the committee. It is a very important communications device between Albemarle and the community.\u201d
\nAlbemarle practices safety from the design to completion of its products.
\n\u201cWe start practicing safety in the design,\u201d said Riggle. \u201cWe make sure the ingredients are added in the right order. We have a chemist, engineer and safety coordinator check the recipe, check the the equipment and make sure everything is done in the proper order every time. We walk through the process and eliminate possible problems before we start making the product. We try to addres any safety concerns before start with up front lab work.\u201d
\nIn 2001, Albemarle had a leak and the response of the emergency management team was very quick.
\n\u201cWe work with Rod Barner, the director of the Blair County Emergency Management team and consult with them every two months,\u201d said Riggle. \u201cWe have worked with the hazerdous materials team and plan for just about any possible emergency.\u201d
\nThe latest simulation involved the possibility of a sniper in Northwood.
\n\u201cWe had a senario of a sniper in Northwood,\u201d said Riggle. \u201cWe first accounted for everyone, then protected against the sniper causing damage.\u201d
\nAlbemarle trains for safety.
\n\u201cWe have an internal response team,\u201d said Riggle. \u201cThey receive training in Delaware. They are trained in the insipient stage of firefighting, rescue training and the first responders course. We have a quarterly drill that is part of our PPC plan that we coordinate with the Emergency Management Center. We practice simulated leaks. Our goal is to go above and beyond what we are required to do.\u201d
\nRiggle credits the Emergency Management Center to help with with Albemarle\u2019s preparedness.
\n\u201cThose people are the unsung heroes,\u201d said Riggle. \u201cRene Santone, the HazMat team, Rod Barner and his staff are hard working and ready for any possible emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Following the explosion at the West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. plant in Kinston, N.C. on Wednesday, The Daily Herald talked with Ivan Riggle, the site compliance manager for Albemarle Corporation\u2019s Tyrone plant. Investigators developed a theory on what caused the deadly explosion at the medical supply plant even before they could douse a lingering rubber fire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}