Accident: Catalyst Systems Inc. Reactive Chemical Explosion
Location: Location: Gnadenhutten, OH
Accident Occurred On: 01/02/2003 | Final Report Released On: 10/29/2003
Accident Type: Reactive Incident
Investigation Status: The Board approved a case study report on this investigation at a public meeting in Washington, DC, on October 29, 2003.
On January 2, 2003, a vacuum dryer holding nearly 200 pounds of benzoyl peroxide exploded at the Catalyst Systems Inc. production facility in Gnadenhutten, Ohio. Employees were in the process of drying granular benzoyl peroxide, which is unstable at high concentrations, when the explosion occurred. The explosion and subsequent fire damaged the production facility, and one Catalyst Systems employee received a minor injury while evacuating the building.