Dust Explosion at Manufacturing PlantDust Explosion at Manufacturing Plant

Investigators said dust from a broken hose is likely the cause of a dust explosion at an International Paper cardboard box manufacturing plant in Richmond, MS early Thursday morning, The Jackson [MS] Clarion-Ledger reported.

No injuries were reported as a result of the explosion, which occurred at about 12:30 a.m., the Clarion-Ledger reported. Small “spot fires” were extinguished by firefighters after the blast.

A second explosion occurred at about 6 a.m., Jackson, MS television news station WLBT reported, resulting in a spill of caustic soda solution, a hazardous chemical.

Ernie Shirley of the Mississippi state Department of Environmental Quality told the Clarion-Ledger that the explosion damaged tanks, and the chemical spilled into the facility’s parking lot. Workers managed to contain the chemical before it spread outside of the parking lot, Shirley said.

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