Explosion at fertilizer plant happened inside herbicide tank
Bonham firefighters were at the Voluntary Purchasing Group facility for most of Monday following a small explosion at a storage building. (Alex Maxwell / Herald Democrat)
By Alex Maxwell
Herald Democrat
The State Fire Marshal’s Office is continuing the investigation into the origin and cause of the explosion that punched a hole in the roof of a building at a fertilizer plant Monday in Bonham. Officials with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said the incident was a pressure explosion involving a 6,000-gallon container of liquid herbicide.
Jerry Hagins, a public information officer for the Texas Department of Insurance, said SFMO personnel are investigating, but while the investigation is open, they don’t provide details on that investigation. He said there is not an exact timetable for the completion of an investigation, and it could take a few weeks depending on the complexity of the case.
“They conduct the investigation, then they submit a report,” Hagins said. “Until that report is in, they don’t release any details.”
The small explosion happened at about 7:30 a.m. inside the bulk tank storage facility on the far north side of the Voluntary Purchasing Group complex, which is on FM 87 near that roadway’s intersection with Highway 56. The blast was contained to the one building and no employees were injured. VPG President/CEO Steve Money said on Monday the building housed several different types of chemicals, but they do not handle ammonium nitrate or anhydrous ammonia at the facility.
The compound manufactures herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and plant nutrients primarily for home lawn and garden use. Brian McGovern, TCEQ media relations specialist, said in an email that the chemical was Alligare Triclopyr-3 and the TCEQ personnel out of the Dallas-Fort Worth office arrived on-site the same day. He said the TCEQ’s role in this situation is to coordinate cleanup with VPG as the agency provides regulatory oversight to ensure proper containment and cleanup.
While SFMO personnel are still determining the exact cause, Money said on Tuesday he believes the herbicide was being pumped into the tank at the time of the explosion. He said the chemical is a basic herbicide mostly for ranges and pastures, and it’s a chemical they have handled many times.
“The tank we believe was mainly empty, so it probably had vapors in it,” Money said. “We believe something caused that explosion inside that tank. We don’t know for sure what that was or how it occurred.”
Money said the tanks are designed in a way that if there is an explosion, they blow upwards and not out, which is what happened in this incident. The reason for this motion is that it causes minimal damage to the tanks and the rest of the system around the exploding tank, he said.
“It literally blew the force blast straight through the roof of the building, which it’s designed to do,” Money said.
The Bonham Fire Department responded to the scene Monday morning and was stationed at the building for most of the day. Multiple trucks and ambulances were at the compound with hoses ready in the event of a fire. McGovern said the explosion broke the sprinkler system and there was about one foot of water inside the facility.
“The majority of the water was contained inside the building; however, some water from the sprinkler system was released from the building at the time of the explosion and ran down a drainage ditch on the eastern side of the building,” McGovern said. “The contractor has contained the area of the runoff for further assessment.”
Fire Chief Brad Nichols said the private cleanup crew from Oklahoma arrived at about 11:30 a.m. and once they arrived nobody else made entry into the building. The crew specializes in these types of cleanups.
“They went ahead and vacuumed up the liquid that was outside the structure and of course it was mixed with water from the sprinkler system,” Nichols said.
The building was diked to prevent the runoff from leaving the area, and the cleanup crew also started a decontamination process on Monday. According to the TCEQ, 10,000 gallons of waste water was pumped out of the building and stored on-site. Two more tanks were damaged during the explosion, but the tanks were empty. All valves and other tanks were secured.
Money said all the safety measures functioned as they should, and the rest of the VPG complex was operating normally. The bulk storage section of the building will remain closed. He said that part is a building within the building as it’s in a fire safe room. He said the sprinkler system only went off in that section.
After the SFMO personnel showed up to VPG at about 3 p.m., Nichols said his firefighters started packing up. The last Bonham fire truck left the scene after 5 p.m. Two off-duty firefighters stayed overnight for a fire standby, where they checked periodically to make sure conditions were safe.
Money said he does not believe that the community was in danger at anytime. He said the emergency responders acted quickly and professionally.
“They did an outstanding job of coming in and taking control of the situation and doing the right things,” Money said. “… I’m really impressed with all the state and community agencies that came in and did their part here to help and are still helping us.”
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State Fire Marshal’s Office investigating cause of explosion at Bonham fertilizer plant
A small explosion punched a hole in the roof of a bulk storage building at the Voluntary Purchasing Group plant outside of Bonham Monday morning. (Alex Maxwell / Herald Democrat) CLICK THE PREVIEW FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS.
A Fannin County Sheriff's Deputy vehicle blocks to road near the Volunteer Purchasing Groups fertilizer plant in Bonham after a small explosion at the plant. (Chris Jennings / Herald Democrat)
Fannin County Emergency Management Coordinator Darrell Brewer said the explosion blew a hole in the roof of a Voluntary Purchasing Group fertilizer plant building, but it did not spark a fire or cause any injuries. Bonham Fire Chief Brad Nichols said the explosion was contained to that one building. (Alex Maxwell / Herald Democrat)
Employees stand outside the Voluntary Purchasing Group's facility after there was a small explosion Monday morning. (Chris Jennings / Herald Democrat)
Damage to the roof of one of the structures at the Voluntary Purchasing Group's facility just outside of Bonham can be seen after there was a small explosion Monday morning. (Chris Jennings / Herald Democrat)
A dump truck full of sand can be seen going into the Voluntary Purchasing Group's facility just outside of Bonham after there was a small explosion Monday morning. (Chris Jennings / Herald Democrat)
An ambulance moves around the Voluntary Purchasing Group's facility just outside of Bonham after there was a small explosion Monday morning. According to officials on scene there were no injuries from the explosion, but two people were transported for medical issues afterwards. (Chris Jennings / Herald Democrat)
Corrections
An earlier version of this story misidentified the name of the plant. The story has been updated to correct that.
By Alex Maxwell
Herald Democrat
BONHAM — The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of a small explosion Monday morning at the Voluntary Purchasing Group fertilizer plant in Bonham.
The explosion punched a hole in the roof of the bulk tank storage building on the far north side of the complex, which is at the intersection of FM 87 and Highway 56, around 7:30 a.m. Bonham Fire Chief Brad Nichols said the explosion was contained to one building and all employees were accounted for.
Nichols said paramedics evaluated each employee and no one was injured from the blast, however, two people were transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure. One person was transported for high blood pressure and the second reported stomach pains, but Nichols said the symptoms were not related to the explosion itself.
The cause of the explosion was unknown Monday afternoon, but representatives from the State Fire Marshal’s Office were set to begin their investigation into the cause Monday. A private cleanup crew was due to scene Monday morning to assess the situation and begin cleaning up the spilled chemicals.
“We are waiting on a cleanup crew from Oklahoma to arrive,” Nichols said in the morning. “Once they arrive, they will give an estimation for what we need to do.”
While a few employees were in the same building when the explosion happened, Nichols said they were not in the same room. A wall separated the few employees inside the building from the blast location. The safety measures inside the facility worked and minimized the damage, he said.
“All of their issues were covered, this could have been much worse if they weren’t,” Nichols said. “They had all their safety criteria in place and they worked.”
VPG President/CEO Steve Money said to his knowledge this is the first time an incident like this has occurred since he has been with the company. About 60 employees were at the compound at the time of the explosion, but the facility is on multiple acres with multiple buildings.
Money said several different types of chemicals were stored in the building, but they do handle ammonium nitrate nor anhydrous ammonia. He said the plant manufactures standard types of fertilizers and nutrients for home lawn and garden use.
“We’re all shocked and amazed because the stuff we handle here we handle repetitively,” Money said.
Money said the safety systems in place worked, and the sprinklers did go off inside the building. He said they are not sure if an actual fire broke out or if the explosion caused the sprinklers to go off, but it was contained. The building was diked so any water and chemical runoff was also contained.
“We put all of our bulk storage in this particular building because the entire building is diked,” Money said. “Again that’s out of an abundance of caution.”
Firefighters with the Bonham Fire Department had fire trucks and ambulances on scene Monday morning, and hoses were spread around the complex in case any fires broke out. Nichols said the only potential danger present after the blast was from the flammable runoff, which was contained within the facility. Besides the runoff, he said everything was safe and the public was safe.
Firefighters initially entered the building after the explosion, but no else was allowed to enter until the cleanup crew arrived on the scene.
“I haven’t even been able to go into the facility out of an abundance of caution,” Money said. “Until the clean up crew gets here, assess it and gets it cleaned up, we won’t allow anyone in there. Safety is our No. 1 objective here.”
The majority of compound was still operational, but Money said all employees were cleared from the danger areas. He said the company will analyze what happened, and will take steps to limit it from happening again.
“We want to assess this and get to the bottom of it and make sure we avoid any potential of this repeating,” Money said.