VERSO PAPER CORPORATION

Mill Air Receiver Tank Explodes, Kills One and Injures Three

At approximately 11:20 a.m. on May 28, 2012 Employee #1, a 50-year-old male with Verso Paper Corporation was working in the vicinity of the mill air receiver ta nk when it exploded. Earlier in the day, a leaking water valve was discovered un der the Number three Paper Machine and employees were instructed to shut down th at machine and supporting equipment so the valve could be repaired. Specific loc kout/tagout procedures were not utilized. One of the pieces of equipment that wa s shut down was the drill well pump, which caused a decreased flow of water to t he air compressors. When an employee was told to turn the drill well pump back o n, he discovered that someone else had already done it. There are five Gardner-D enver air compressors, with two air receiver tanks (one for Mill Air and one for Instrument Air) and two chiller/dryer units located on the floor above the air compressors. Two coworkers heard a loud air release while they were in the break room adjacent to the Air Compressor Room. The surviving coworker in the tank ar ea, said he saw some smoke or light haze and saw fire shoot up and out of AC Num ber three approximately three-to-six feet in the air. He turned to run out of th e area and had taken three-or-four steps before there was a loud explosion and h e went flying. He did not see what happened to Employee #1. The Mill Air receive r tank exploded, causing damage to the building and contents of the building. In 2010, the system for cooling the oil for the air compressors was changed from a ir cooled to water cooled. Shutting the well water off decreased the water flow to the air compressors, which resulted in AC number-four and number-five shuttin g down due to high temperatures of 200 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit range. AC numb er three continued to run and overheated. Company records show that the cooling water flow had decreased (200 gpm to 59 gpm) during the hours prior to the explo sion and the oil temperature in AC number three had increased to over 308 degree s prior to the explosion. The MSDS indicates the AEON 4000 Compressor Oil used i n the five air compressors had a flash point of 210 degrees F. The explosion res ulted in killing Employee #1 and four coworkers being sent to a local hospital w here they were treated and released.