Overview According to New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, On April 21, 1995, an explosion and fire occurred at a company named Napp Technologies, Inc. that caused several fatalities and major damage to the building and equipment (www.nj.gov.) The company was a facility that mixed chemicals to create other products, mainly pharmaceuticals, but on occasion would mix chemicals for other companies that did not have the capabilities. The explosion occurred in a chemical mixing tank containing aluminum powder, sodium hydrosulfite, potassium carbonate and benzaldehyde (www.nj.gov). The fire burned for several hours and involved federal, state and local emergency response personnel to finally extinguish. Four Napp Technologies employees …show more content…
Facility Information Napp Technologies, Inc. facility in Lodi, New Jersey was located on Main Street in the middle of town near other industrial facilities along with a resident and retail section. 62 union workers were employed at Napp Technologies, Inc. (www.nytimes.com). Primarily a company that manufactured pharmaceuticals and on limited case by case basis would mix chemicals for other companies unable to do so at their locations (nepis.epa.gov). They would receive raw materials and blend according to the original companies specifications. Equipment Information The facility had several mixing machines, one of which was the Patterson-Kelly 125 blender. This blender was capable of mixing 125 cubic feet of material. The unit was stainless steel, double insulated and incased in a steel outer shell with a dual heating/cooling capabilities with water/glycol mixture in between the layers of steel (nepis.epa.gov). There was a blender blade that ran through the top portion of the machine that several water lines come in from one side while the other side has a vacuum for drying materials. It also had a liquid feed line for different types of mixing