Companies face violations after deadly explosion

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - The DuPont Plant and a contractor now face several serious violations for last year's deadly chemical explosion in the town of Tonawanda.

It was an explosion that killed a welder and sent a shock wave of fear throughout a community for hours. OSHA has determined that both DuPont and welding contractor Mollenberg-Betz of Buffalo violated workplace safety standards, which led to the death of 57-year-old welder Rich Folaron, a husband and father of four children. Now, OSHA has fined two companies a total of $117,000.

OSHA Regional Director Art Dube said, "We're hoping that everybody checks everything twice. Check and recheck, before they do this kind of operation."

>> Last year, an OSHA official explained the tank had been emptied two weeks prior

>> The company's president was stunned by the death, the business's first serious accident in 100 years of operation

>> Folaron's co-worker, who was burned, was said to be more concerned about Folaron's family after the accident than himself

Another welder, Bill Freeburg, was burned in the explosion. The operation involved the welding of a bracket on this storage tank. The lid blew when vinyl chloride fumes from two other tanks made their way through a pipe to the empty tank and were ignited by the welder's torch.

OSHA Assistant Area Director Michael Stratton said, "On the day of the accident, they did monitor for flammable vapors on the inside of the tank. Unfortunately, they did not monitor for flammable vapors on the outside of the tank, which they should have done."

The attorney for Mollenberg-Betz said the company is shocked by the OSHA citations.

Attorney Robert Walsh said, "Mollenberg is inside DuPont's plant. DuPont has the expertise. DuPont is the entity that says this is how you do the project, and these are the steps we take that should create a safe environment."

DuPont says it is reviewing the OSHA findings.

DuPont Spokesman Rick Straitman said, "We plan to meet with OSHA in the next few days to discuss the matter. We've been cooperating fully with the agency throughout their investigation."

DuPont and Mollenberg-Betz have 15 working days to contest the findings or reach a settlement with OSHA.