KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. — Federal investigators provided an update on the inquiry into a December explosion at a Belle chemical facility.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said it is working with Optima Belle on sampling and testing chlorinated dry bleach powder. Investigators noted dark specks were observed in the powder before the incident, in which one person died and another individual was injured by a projectile.
The explosion happened in an industrial dryer unit as Optima Belle was trying to remove water from chlorinated dry bleach. The company was performing a trial batch process operation for the Clearon Corporation.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is trying to determine the source of the dark specks.