A devastating explosion took place in March at a Pennsylvania candy manufacturer, resulting in the tragic deaths of seven employees. Shockingly, the company, R.M. Palmer, failed to evacuate workers even after some reported smelling gas prior to the incident, stated the Department of Labor on Thursday.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an investigation and discovered that R.M. Palmer did not follow safety procedures by not evacuating the facility after workers voiced concerns about a suspected natural gas leak. This negligence resulted in the loss of seven lives. OSHA Area Director Kevin Chambers in Harrisburg, Pa., emphasized that this horrific tragedy could have been prevented if the company had taken the necessary precautions.
In addition to the fatalities, 10 workers were injured in the explosion. The blast leveled a building in the factory complex and caused damage to several other buildings in West Reading, Pa., a small town located 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
A machine operator, Patricia Borges, who was rescued from the rubble, attributes her survival to falling into a vat of liquid chocolate that extinguished the flames on her arm. According to the Associated Press, Borges mentioned that she and others had already complained about a gas odor approximately 30 minutes before the explosion occurred.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted an investigation and determined that a natural gas leak caused the blast and subsequent fire on March 24. The NTSB’s preliminary findings, released in May and updated in July, confirm this.
R.M. Palmer responded to CBS MoneyWatch by stating that it continues to cooperate in the NTSB’s investigation. However, the company plans to vigorously contest OSHA’s citations, which it believes lack legal and factual support. Meanwhile, R.M. Palmer, in business since 1948 with around 850 employees, expressed its deep sorrow for the tragic loss of lives and injuries suffered by its employees.
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