"A lot of those guys were in their 40s and 50s and you just don't find another job at that age if that's where you've been your whole life. He ruled in August 2010 that in several cases sufficient issues of fact existed for juries to determine damage claims, but none of the cases ever went before a jury. The first explosion known as a primary event likely occurred inside a sugar conveyor located beneath two large sugar storage silos. [27] The bill passed the United States House of Representatives but never passed the United States Senate. "It would probably be the most important thing here.". CBS Evening News for Saturday, Feb 09, 2008 , Mass shootings spur divergent laws as states split, Trumps decision to back out of debate tests Fox, How Trumps attacks on prosecutors build on history, Mother remembers daughter killed weeks before 22nd, Teen killed in Statesboro shooting, police say, Drugs, drones believed to be headed into Smith State, BestReviews.com - Top picks to make everyone happy, Amazons best back-to-school deals for high schoolers, Amazons best back-to-school deals for middle schoolers, Amazons best back-to-school deals for elementary, Home Depots 12-foot skeleton is back, so Halloween, Prime Day is over but 100+ of our favorites are still, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. After settlement negotiations the company agreed to pay $6 million, while admitting no fault. [8] Imperial was purchased in 2012 by the Louis Dreyfus Group. Vanderbilt Television News Archive Many were in critical condition, including some who were placed on ventilators, said Dr. William Wessinger, the medical director at Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah. Handy himself was a captain assigned to the second-day rescue and recover effort. Specifically, internal company memorandums by managers in 1967 expressed their concern about the potential of explosions from sugar dust. A building that once had brick on the outside had just a metal framework left.". Many Imperial Sugar employees gathered at the city's gymnasium for a company meeting Friday. Internal correspondence dating from 1967 showed that Port Wentworth refinery managers were seriously concerned about the possibility of a sugar dust explosion that could travel from one area to another, wrecking large sections of a plant.Precursor events included a 1998 explosion at Imperials plant in Sugar Land, Texas; an explosion at the Domino Sugar plant in Baltimore in November 2007; and two sugar dust explosions in the 1960s that killed a total of ten workers. [6], Victims of the disaster continued to file claims against Imperial Sugar and its construction contractor. Handy said that effort led to the formation of a consortium of riverfront industries that partnered with the Savannah Fire Department to later buy and maintain the same type of equipment. U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. sentenced Birge, 63, in October 2015 to six years in federal prison and ordered to make restitution of more than $751,000 for her admissions. The Imperial Sugar refinery first opened its doors as Savannah Sugar Refining Corporation in 1917. At the close of the day of the explosion, six people were missing, with no confirmed deaths. Imperial Sugar had recently made construction changes that enabled the accumulation of sugar dust. Dozens others were injured but survived, 14 of them spending months at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta. Holes were in the concrete. "My personal vivid memory is the magnitude of the devastation," he said. The final report proposed a series of safety recommendations for Board consideration. On February 7, 2008 there was a sugar dust explosion at the Savannah Sugar Refinery, which is owned by the Imperial Sugar Co. OSHA did request that the office of U.S. Attorney Edward J. Tarver consider criminal charges, but Tarver announced in February 2013 that he would not pursue a prosecution of Imperial or any of its executives, citing insufficient evidence and a lack of a felony provision under the prevailing statute. Explosion Injures Dozens at Georgia Sugar Refinery Byron Singleton Savannah Sugar Refinery Victim, 16. Sugar Refinery Explosion Victims Obituary (2008) - Savannah, GA 0 The privately held Florida agribusiness U.S. Sugar will purchase Imperial Sugar, the Sugar Land, Texas-based company that owns and operates the Port Wentworth sugar refinery that's. Savannah Foods & Industries, Inc. -- Company History The origin of the explosion was narrowed down to the center of the factory, in a basement located beneath storage silos. People haven't made it out of there yet," said Claxton, who has worked at the plant for four years. "Prior to building its Clewiston Refinery in 1998, U.S. Sugar for decades sold and shipped its raw cane sugar to the Savannah refinery it is now acquiring," the press release said. The company hoped to recycle the product for ethanol production. [10][11] Workers described the factory as antiquated, with much of the machinery dating back more than twenty-eight years. Anxious families of the night-shift workers at the Imperial Sugar plant gathered at the parish hall of a Catholic church across the street and wept as officials relayed grim news from the plant. I still get emotional still.. (front) On the evening of February 7, 2008 an explosion and fire at the Savannah Sugar Refinery claimed the lives of 14 associates and injured dozens more. Since the Imperial explosion, the CSB has completed three combustible dust investigations that killed eight workers. Imperial, based in Sugar Land, Texas, had bought the refinery and its brand name in 1997 from a previous local owner. Sugar dust can become combustible if it's too dry and builds up a static electric charge. Require routine emergency evacuation drills and critiques. SAVANNAH, Ga. -- A vase of red roses sat in front of the church altar Saturday, flanked by portraits of Truitt Byers and a blue baseball cap . [21] So many people turned up that police requested that each family send only one representative. The creosote used throughout was known as fat lighter, because of the fire risk it posed. Shelathia Harvey Savannah Sugar Refinery Victim, 10. Imperial Sugar Explosion: Capitalists Profit, Workers Die Another investigation is ongoing into an explosion at a milling company in Wisconsin that claimed five lives on May 31, 2017. 14 years since 14 killed in Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion, Benedictine, Jenkins High game ended early due to disruptions caused by TikTok challenge, according to school system, Alderwoman Dr. Estella Shabazz hosts fifth district town hall meeting. "How do you anticipate that magnitude? [8], The Georgia plant's 371 workers continued to receive payment from Imperial, and 275 were rehired to assist with cleanup and demolition of parts of the refinery that could not be salvaged. At Least 6 Dead In Sugar Refinery Blast - CBS News "Everybody is upset about everybody. [16] In a press conference held on February 17, 2008, one of the six members of the CSB team said that the explosion showed the ongoing risk from dust explosions despite their report highlighting the matter in 2004. [8][12], In the time leading up to the explosion, Imperial had run into financial difficulties. USA Today Network investigation:The Smoke Comes Every Year. ", "Burn victims in Georgia face long recovery. It was kept from operating for more than a week. ", "Explosion at Chatham County Sugar Refinery. Aerial view of the damage to the refinery. This designation may apply when later facts indicate that the concerns expressed in the recommendation were actually addressed prior to the incident, or when a recommendation is superseded by a new, more appropriate recommendation. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Sugar silos at centre of Georgia, US refinery blast that killed 13 demolished, U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, "CSB Releases New Safety Video, "Inferno: Dust Explosion at Imperial Sugar", "No criminal charges in Imperial Sugar explosion that killed 14 workers. He also cited a lack of federal criminal laws specifically related to safety in the sugar industry as a reason for his decision. [18] The explosion occurred in the center of the refinery, where bagging and storage facilities were fed completed product by a network of elevators and conveyor belts. Savannah Sugar Refinery Memorial - Port Wentworth, GA - Figurative Two other suits were filed before Chatham County Superior Court Judge Louisa Abbot. [6] It noted that the sugar industry had been aware of the risk of dust explosions since 1926. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board concluded in a special report in 2006 that OSHA had no comprehensive regulation to prevent these explosions and their program "inadequately addresses dust explosion hazards.". Good news was scarce as firefighters pulled the fifth body from the Imperial Sugar refinery, outside Savannah. At least four people known to be inside during the explosion were missing. Beth Frits, a spokeswoman for the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta, said 16 fire victims transferred from Memorial were in critical condition and three were in serious condition. In the agreement, Imperial admitted no wrongdoing, but no longer contested OSHA's citations. It became largest processor and refiner of sugar in the U.S., according to the company's Web site. "The granular table sugar produced in the refinery passed through and was stored in these silos. U.S. Chemical Safety Board. Youre Acting as His Pulse: Rookie 911 Dispatcher Helped CA Woman Focus on Aiding Husband, FL High School Football Player Suffers Medical Emergency during Game, CO Police: Woman Assaults Officer, EMTs during Arrest, Paramedics and EMTs Sue Elite Ambulance for Deducting Wages to Pay for Traffic Tickets, 2023 JEMS: EMS, Emergency Medical Services - Training, Paramedic, EMT News, 20 Triaged as Driver Trying to Park Crashes into Busy FL Res, Patriots Isaiah Bolden Evaluated, Released from Hospi, IAEMSC Issues Policy Statement on Prehospital Administration, Dr. Ed Dickinson Steps Down as JEMS Medical Director. ", "Text of the Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2008. Provide a copy of your combustible dust hazard awareness training materials to your clients who deal with combustible dust. Firefighters have to glean what lessons they can from a fire like Imperial because it's impossible to stage an exercise of that scope. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board released its report on the incident in September 2009, saying that the explosion had been "entirely preventable". The burning of sugarcane clogslungs for half of the year, but complaints were long ignored by the government and the companies that cause the smoke. Include combustible dust characteristics, especially ignition energy and minimum explosible concentration; best practices for minimizing dust accumulation, especially on elevated surfaces; and safe housekeeping practices. Weibier 0,0% | Paulaner Brauerei Mnchen ", "Imperial Sugar Refinery Blast in Port Wentworth, Ga. [7], The Port Wentworth refinery was constructed in 1916 by 400 people who were moved from Louisiana specifically for the purpose, and opened the following year. Savannah Sugar Refinery Explosion Victem, Battle Between Confederate Gunboats and Union Field Artillery, Indian Trading Post: Home of Mary Musgrove.

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