Workers at an Institute chemical plant weren’t required to wear respirators or carry gas monitors that could have warned them about toxic fumes before a leak killed two employees and injured more than a dozen others earlier this year, according to federal investigators.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released new details about its investigation of the April chemical leak at the Ames Goldsmith Catalyst Refiners facility in Kanawha County.
Investigators found the company did not have a written procedure for disposing of chemicals through its wastewater treatment system. Workers also told investigators the company stopped requiring respirators after the facility began the process of shutting down.
The company also did not provide or require employees or contractors to carry personal gas monitors that could detect dangerous fumes.
“This tragic incident underscores the need to have clear procedures and safely manage the serious chemical hazards that can arise during facility decommissioning,” said CSB Chairperson Steve Owens in a statement.
A spokesperson for Ames Goldsmith said the company plans to continue cooperating with federal officials during the ongoing investigation.
Ames Goldsmith had a record of workplace safety violations before the leak. The company’s West Virginia facility had not been inspected since 2018 by federal investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Unlike OSHA, the CSB can’t issue fines or citations. Instead, it investigates the root causes of major chemical accidents and makes recommendations meant to prevent them from happening again.
CSB investigators found the release happened as workers were disposing of chemicals left at the facility ahead of its closure.
According to the CSB, employees pumped a chemical solution into a wastewater receiving tank before adding diluted nitric acid into the same tank.
Workers then noticed a chemical reaction and fog forming over the tank, and the employee operating the pump stopped adding nitric acid and went outside for fresh air before losing consciousness.
A supervisor who approached the tank also lost consciousness. Two other employees then went into the area to help, and both inhaled the fumes and later died.
Emergency responders on the scene detected hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic gas that can cause serious injury or death in seconds.
The incident prompted officials to order residents within a mile of the plant to shelter in place. Twenty-two people, including four emergency responders, were decontaminated at the site, and 18 others were taken to the hospital.
Investigators found the facility had four face respirators, but not all of them were equipped with filters that would protect workers from deadly gases.
The new findings come nearly four months after the incident, which was the latest in a long history of chemical accidents in the Kanawha Valley.
The board itself has also faced political pressure over the past few years. President Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed eliminating its funding, arguing its work duplicates that of other federal regulators.
The CSB is still investigating what caused the leak, including the company’s chemical disposal process, protective equipment and oversight.