Authorities in Owyhee County are cleaning up what’s being called an industrial accident at a waste processing site near Grand View that left one man dead and three others injured. It's not yet known what caused the blast.
On Saturday morning, the US Ecology site about 50 miles southeast of Boise was rocked by an explosion. The facility that blew up was a stabilization building. The blast was described as powerful enough to bend metal and blow away much of the building’s skin.
The accident killed 48-year-old Monte Green of Grand View. At the time of the explosion, Green was moving materials around the facility that processes toxic items. He’d worked at the US Ecology plant since 2014.
In addition to the fatality, three employees were injured. Each are out of the hospital and recuperating from non-life threatening injuries. David Crumrine, the head of communications for US Ecology, says an accident of this kind hasn’t happened in the company’s history.
“We manage risk, in essence,” Crumrine says. “And you know, from time to time, accidents can happen, but nothing like this, can I report with a fatality happening, going back 66 years.”
Going forward, Crumrine says the company’s top priorities are assisting those affected by the accident and supporting both internal and external investigations into the explosion.
Some of the regulatory agencies looking into the Saturday blast are the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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