RALEIGH, N.C. --
The October chemical fire that forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and gutted a hazardous waste storage plant in suburban Apex may have been minor if unspent oxygen generators weren't mistakenly stored there, federal officials said Wednesday.
"The fire would have probably smoldered," said Robert Hall, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board's lead investigator into the fire at EQ Industrial Services.
Instead, the nighttime blaze spread rapidly and destroyed the company's 7,300-square-foot warehouse and assorted chemicals inside, most likely because of heat from the generators, which can reach 500 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the board.
That finding moved the board to issue a national safety advisory to aircraft maintenance and hazardous waste storage workers, alerting them of hazards associated with the devices. Officials said they're concerned an Alabama company that shipped the unspent, mislabeled devices to Apex might have also sent them elsewhere.
"If these devices are out in the hazmat waste stream ... we want to get the word out on that and make sure they are accounted for and expended before they're put into the hazmat waste stream," board member William B. Wark said.
EQ Industrial Services issued a statement praising the advisory, saying it will allow for safer management, transport and disposal of the generators.
Chemical oxygen generators are used to provide supplemental oxygen in drop-down masks in case a commercial aircraft cabin depressurizes. Unexpended generators in the cargo hold of ValuJet Flight 592 were blamed for the 1996 crash in Florida that killed 110 people.
The next year, federal regulators said passenger airlines should no longer carry such generators as cargo. The National Transportation Safety Board also ruled that expired but fully functioning chemical oxygen generators should be expended before being transported.
That didn't happen before more than 78 devices were shipped by truck from Alabama to Apex, a city about 15 miles southwest of Raleigh.
Board officials said a pair of Alabama companies, including Mobile Aerospace Engineering, failed to properly handle the generators before shipping them to EQ Industrial Services.
The devices were past their projected service life - typically 12 years to 15 years - but still fully charged, hazardous and not properly labeled, they said.
"Apparently this aircraft maintenance facility had forgotten the lessons of ValuJet about expending these things," Hall said. "We're concerned that there might be somebody else out there that's not following the procedure. We have no knowledge of anybody out there, but we want to make sure this message is reiterated for the industry."
EQ Industrial Services was certified to store the generators if they were properly spent, Hall said.
Board investigators believe the Apex fire began in an area where pool chemicals and other materials were stored, then spread to an area where flammable wastes were kept. The massive blaze led city officials to ask 16,000 residents - about half the city - to evacuate.
About 30 people were treated for respiratory problems in the hours after the fire.
Along with the safety advisory, the chemical board issued a rare "imminent hazard" advisory to Mobile Aerospace, one of only three such advisories ever released by the board. Officials said Mobile Aerospace removed the devices from aircraft, then sent them to PSC Allworth Inc., a hazardous waste facility in Birmingham, Ala., that then shipped them to Apex.
Hall said the board was still investigating why a third party was involved. A phone message seeking comment from PSC Allworth Inc. was not returned Wednesday.
The board has recommended that Mobile Aerospace revise or develop appropriate procedures when dealing with such generators. It also asked the company to notify its waste brokers and waste facilities about possible mislabeled or unspent generators they might have received.
Alan Hall, risk manager for Mobile Aerospace, said the company has been working with the chemical board and doesn't dispute the findings.
The Mobile Aerospace site has been inspected by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, according to the FAA. Both agencies are reviewing the findings.
Hall said the board's findings could lead to stricter rules governing the oxygen generators.
The fire has already led to changes in North Carolina. Gov. Mike Easley signed a bill Tuesday requiring new regulations for hazardous waste storage sites. The legislation was based on recommendations from a task force Easley formed after the fire, including more frequent inspections and a quicker review cycle for permitting facilities.
___
Associated Press Writer Phillip Rawls in Montgomery, Ala., contributed to this story.
News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Aircraft Maintenance Technology" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.
