APRIL 17, 2015
TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA
Authorities on Friday identified the worker killed during an
explosion at a Tarpon Springs waste-to-fuel conversion plant.
Michael D. Sheppard, 29, of Safety Harbor, was found dead
after the blast Thursday afternoon at MagneGas Corp., 150 Rainville Road,
according to Tarpon Springs police.
Another MagneGas employee, 41-year-old Eric R. Newell, of
Largo, was taken by medical helicopter to Tampa General Hospital for treatment
of injuries sustained in the explosion. He was in stable condition, police
said.
There was still no details on how the blast occurred. This facility creates explosive material (mostly methane gas), so obviously something went wrong and the workers ignited gases or there was aleak somewhere that released the explosive gases, mostly methane.
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Authorities say one person is dead following an explosion at
a Tampa Bay area gas plant.
Tarpon Springs police say the accidental explosion occurred
Thursday afternoon at MagneGas Corp., an alternative energy company.
Officials say one man was found dead, and another was flown
to a St. Petersburg hospital with serious injuries. Police weren’t immediately
naming the victims. About two dozen other workers were evacuated from the area.
Tarpon Springs Fire Rescue reports the scene is secure. The
State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the explosion.
According to the MagneGas website, the company converts
liquid waste into a hydrogen-based fuel, which can be used for metal cutting,
cooking, heating and powering natural gas bi-fuel automobiles.
“Our deep sympathy goes out to the immediate family, and our
thoughts and prayers are with the family and all friends,” MagneGas spokesman
Shepard Doniger says, in a prepared statement. “We are grateful for the efforts
and immediate actions of the emergency responders. We are working closely with
responders and local officials to determine the cause and circumstances
surrounding the accident.”
The explosion happened just after 2 p.m. at the warehouse
that a subsidiary of MagneGas purchased in 2007 for $700,000, according to
property records. The facility was built in 1986, and MagneGas had long
outgrown the space.
Company officials previously announced plans to move to Pinellas Park later this year.
Company officials previously announced plans to move to Pinellas Park later this year.
“Our top priority is to the health and safety of these
people who, as we said, are considered family,” Doniger says. “We have strived
to create a culture of safe, compliant operations. We take this matter very
seriously, and are dedicating all the necessary corporate resources to assist
in the investigation.”
MagneGas, trades on the Nasdaq using the symbol MNGA. It reported a loss of $7.2 million, or 23
cents per share, in 2014 on revenue of $1 million, compared to a $6.3 million,
or 29 cents per share, loss the year before on revenue of $989,000.