Chemical Manufacturer Cited for Deadly Explosion

A Newburyport, MA pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer and its parent company could have prevented an employee’s fatal injuries from an explosion on May 4, 2023, but lacked the required safeguards in a chemical manufacturing process, a US Department of Labor investigation found. 

At the time of explosion in May, five workers were inside the building. Four were taken to the hospital, treated, and later released. Authorities were still searching for the fifth worker, who they found deceased.

An investigation by OSHA at PolyCarbon Industries Inc./SEQENS SAS identified numerous deficiencies in the facility’s process safety management program for highly hazardous chemicals for the production and drying of a chemical product called Dekon 139 and for combustible dust hazards. During the process, a pressure vessel exploded causing the employee’s fatal injuries.

OSHA investigators found that PolyCarbon/SEQENS did not:

OSHA cited PolyCarbon Industries/SEQENS SAS for 11 violations — eight serious, two repeat, and one other-than-serious. The agency has proposed $298,254 in penalties.

“The requirements of OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard are stringent and comprehensive because failure to comply fully can have a severe or catastrophic impact on employees that, in this case, cost a worker their life,” said Sarah Carle, OSHA’s area director in Andover, MA.

SEQENS SAS operates 24 manufacturing plants and three research and development centers in North America, Europe, and Asia. Formerly PCI Synthesis, the Newburyport site is a chemical processing facility that performs manufacturing, drying, packaging, and testing of active pharmaceutical intermediates and custom synthesized chemicals.