On 7 February 2008, fourteen people were killed and thirty-six injured during a

dust explosion A dust explosion is the rapid combustion of fine particles suspended in the air within an enclosed location. Dust explosions can occur where any dispersed powdered combustible material is present in high-enough concentrations in the atmosphere ...

at a

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

owned by Imperial Sugar in Port Wentworth,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States. Dust explosions had been an issue of concern among U.S. authorities since three fatal accidents in 2003, with efforts made to improve safety and reduce the risk of reoccurrence. The Port Wentworth refinery was large and old, featuring outdated construction methods, factors which are believed to have contributed to the fire's severity. The origin of the explosion was narrowed down to the center of the factory, in a basement located beneath

storage silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...

s. Large accumulations of sugar dust due to poor housekeeping became airborne from the initial

shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...

s, leading to a series of massive secondary explosions spreading throughout the factory. Investigations conducted by the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

ruled out deliberate criminal activity in 2013."Imperial Sugar avoids criminal charges for fatal Georgia plant dust explosion."
''www.dualdraw.com'', March 4, 2013. As a result of the industrial disaster, new safety legislation was proposed. Port Wentworth's economy declined because the factory had ceased operating. Imperial intended to rebuild it and return to production by the end of 2008, with replacement buildings to be completed by summer the following year. Victims filed up to 44 lawsuits for

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

against Imperial and/or the company hired to clean up the site.Skutch, Jan
"Appellate court rejects pre-trial appeal in Imperial Sugar case."

Savannah Morning News The ''Savannah Morning News'' is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its Savannah metropolitan area, metropolitan ...

. ''www.savannahnow.com'', September 23, 2010.

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. ''www.archive.org.'' Retrieved September 12, 2019. Imperial said that the explosion was the main reason for a major loss in the first quarter of 2008. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released its report on the incident in September 2009, saying that the explosion had been "entirely preventable". Investigations by

Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

(OSHA) and the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

(ATF) reached similar conclusions.

Background

Imperial Sugar's refinery in Port Wentworth,

, was a four-story structure on the bank of the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

. Imperial, based in

Sugar Land Sugar Land (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Sugarland) is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a po ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, had bought the refinery and its brand name in 1997 from a previous local owner. Known since construction as the Dixie Crystal refinery, it was the main employer in Port Wentworth, a town of 3,500, prior to the disaster."Death toll rises at Georgia refinery."

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, February 9, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2014. The Port Wentworth refinery was constructed in 1916 by 400 people who were moved from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

specifically for this purpose, and opened the following year. Imperial bought the refinery together with Savannah Foods to form part of a national supply and distribution network to meet demand from businesses such as Piggly Wiggly,

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

and

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

. This network was the second largest in the United States.Bynum, Russ
"Ga. sugar refinery demolishing blasted silos."

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

. ''www.usatoday30.usatoday.com'', June 24, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2014. The refinery sat on a site and was spread across . Workers described the factory as antiquated, with much of the machinery dating back more than twenty-eight years. The site had continued operating because it had good access to rail and shipping links for

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

. In the last full

fiscal year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

before the disaster, which ended on September 30, 2007, the facility refined 14.51 million

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and United States customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial sy ...

(658,163 tonnes) of sugar, 9% of the nation's requirements, compared to Imperial's

Gramercy, Louisiana Gramercy is a town in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in St. James Parish. It is part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area . The population was 3,613 at the time of the 2010 U.S. census and 3,188 according to the 2020 population estimates progra ...

, refinery, which refined 11.08 million hundredweight (502,580 tonnes) of sugar in the same time period. 90% of the raw sugar supplied to the facility came from overseas in that year, and Imperial expected the "vast majority" to come in from abroad in the year of the explosion as well. In the time leading up to the explosion, Imperial had run into financial difficulties. In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, sales had fallen eight percent while the company's profits and stock price had fallen by half. The last two annual reports by Imperial before the explosion said that any damage to the facility at Port Wentworth would "have a material effect on the company's business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows".Chapman, Da
"Sugar refinery near Savannah determined to rebuild."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

, April 13, 2008. ''www.investorvillage.com.'' Retrieved September 27, 2014. Meanwhile, in 2004 the CSB conducted a study into the risks presented by

s after three fatal accidents in the year before. The West Pharmaceutical Services explosion in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

killed six persons, the CTA Acoustics explosion in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

killed seven,"CTA Acoustics Dust Explosion and Fire."
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, February 15, 2005. Retrieved December 6, 2014. and the Hayes Lemmerz explosion in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

killed one,"Hayes Lemmertz explosion and fire."
''www.csb.gov'', September 27, 2005. Retrieved December 6, 2014. prompting the report. The CSB found that between 1980 and 2005, there had been 281 explosions involving combustible dust, resulting in 119 deaths and 718 injuries."OSHA announces development of a combustible dust standard."
''www.nfpa.org'', December 7, 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2015. The agency made a number of recommendations to the

(OSHA), which had been partly implemented by 2008. The CSB continued to be concerned about the potential for further fatal accidents up until the explosion at the Imperial refinery in Port Wentworth.

Explosion and emergency response

The explosion occurred at 7 p.m. local time in what was initially believed to be a room where sugar was bagged by workers. Witnesses from across the Savannah River in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

reported seeing flames shoot up several stories high.Herring, Barbara
"Explosion at Chatham County Sugar Refinery."
''www.wsav.com'', February 8, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2014. There were 112 employees on-site at the time.Testimonial record on the The explosion occurred in the center of the refinery, where bagging and storage facilities were fed sugar by a network of elevators and conveyor belts. Many of the buildings at this location were six to eight stories high with narrow gaps in between. Ambulances responded to the scene from across twelve counties, and firefighters from three. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

closed off the river in the area, and a firefighting tugboat was used to douse the fire from the river. A helicopter was used to search the river for anyone who may have been thrown into it by the blast."4 killed in Georgia refinery blast; at least 4 people missing."

, February 8, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2014. Off-duty employees were brought in to assist with

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations, as emergency services personnel were unfamiliar with the plant's layout.

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

worker Joyce Baker, who was among the first to arrive at the scene, reported that it was like "walking into hell", with some of the men she treated having "no skin at all", while others had skin "just dripping off them".

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

"Bodies recovered in Georgia sugar refinery explosion."

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

, February 8, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2014. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMHSA) alerted local hospitals to prepare for up to 100 casualties. A doctor at nearby Memorial Health Hospital described patients arriving at an emergency

triage In medicine, triage (, ; ) is a process by which care providers such as Health professional, medical professionals and those with first aid knowledge determine the order of priority for providing treatment to injured individuals and/or inform th ...

as varying in condition from suffering minor burns to their hands to having received 80-90 percent burns, with many in critical condition, and one with 95 percent burns. The victims' ages ranged from 18 to 50. Many victims were placed in artificial comas because they were on

life support system A life-support system is the combination of equipment that allows survival in an environment or situation that would not support that life in its absence. It is generally applied to systems supporting human life in situations where the outside ...

s. Eight were transported by helicopter to the specialized Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, about an hour away. Five of those injured later died there while receiving treatment. A church close to the refinery was used as a point for families seeking information on relatives employed at the facility."4 dead in Ga. sugar refinery blast."
''www.nbcnews.com'', February 8, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2014. So many people came that police requested that each family send only one representative. At the close of the day of the explosion, six people were missing, with no confirmed deaths. Overnight, several deep-seated fires were uncovered, and firefighting continued the next day. Most of the three-mile (5 km) stretch of river that had previously been closed was reopened without restriction, although a patrol remained in place to enforce a safety zone. The river restrictions delayed one outgoing vessel and two incoming ones. There was also a minor oil spill originating from equipment at the refinery's unoccupied and rarely used dock. The explosion seriously weakened the structure of the refinery, leaving it highly unstable. There was also extensive smoke damage. The packaging area was totally destroyed; twelve percent of the refinery was demolished by the explosion. Removal of debris began the day after the accident, with assistance from

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

s. The six missing persons were all found dead that day, three of them in tunnels running beneath the facility. The final death toll was thirteen. It was the first major shutdown of a U.S. sugar refinery since American Sugar Refining Inc.'s

Domino Sugar Domino Foods, Inc. (also known as DFI and formerly known as W. & F.C. Havemeyer Company, Havemeyer, Townsend & Co. Refinery, and Domino Sugar) is a privately held sugar marketing and sales company based in Yonkers, New York, United States, tha ...

shut down its plant in

Chalmette, Louisiana Chalmette ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in, and the parish seat of, St. Bernard Parish in southeastern Louisiana, United States. The 2010 census reported that Chalmette had 16,751 people; 2011 population was listed as 17,119; however, th ...

, in the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. After seven days, on February 14, 2008, the worst of the fire had been extinguished. The sugar storage silos remained alight despite attempts to put the fire out by dousing them with thousands of gallons of water from a helicopter. Specialist crews and equipment were called in to complete work tackling the smoldering, molten sugar in the silos. At this time, seven bodies had been recovered, and an eighth person had died in the hospital.

Investigation

The location of the explosion was quickly established as a building used to store refined sugar before packaging it and two of three tall, thick

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

storage silos adjacent to it, as pictured. According to Imperial Sugar

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

John Sheptor, the accumulated sugar dust likely acted like

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

. Sheptor, who was in the plant at the time of the explosion, survived only because he was protected by a firewall."OSHA ComDust Standard Sorely Needed, Imperial Sugar's CEO Says."
''www.ohsonline.com'', June 20, 2012. Retrieved January 10, 2015. Heavy equipment had to be used to shore up the partially collapsed structure before firefighters could enter it to search for victims. Within twenty-four hours, the explosive substance was identified as sugar dust. Federal investigations by OSHA and the CSB were launched, and they interviewed witnesses, checked documentation, and conducted on-scene examination of the plant. OSHA arrived within two hours and the CSB within forty-eight hours. Other brief investigations were conducted by state firefighters and police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), but these were ended quickly after confirming there was no evidence of the explosion and fire having been deliberately started.Press Release
"Statement of CSB Investigations Manager Stephen Selk, P.E., Updating the Public on the Investigation of the Imperial Sugar Company Explosion and Fire, Savannah, Georgia."
''www.csb.gov'', February 17, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2014. In a press conference held on February 17, 2008, one of the six members of the CSB team said that the explosion showed the ongoing risk from dust explosions despite their report highlighting the matter in 2004. Investigators were unable to enter the silos as OSHA ruled them to be too hazardous after the explosion. They were only able to access the area after the silos were demolished. By the time this took place, four months after the disaster, investigators believed that the explosion started in a basement area beneath the silos, from which sugar was fed up to the packaging building on conveyor belts. The factory's outdated construction materials and methods are believed to have contributed to the severity of the blaze. The ceiling was of wooden tongue and groove design. The

creosote Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood, or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics. Some creosote types w ...

used throughout was known as “fat lighter,” because of the fire risk it posed. Interviews of Imperial employees conducted by OSHA uncovered a lack of training, as forty of the workers reported never receiving training on how to exit the building in an emergency. Only five employees recalled having a fire drill.Hosier, Fred
"Imperial Sugar workers had little emergency exit training."
''www.safetynewsalert.com'', July 20, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2015.

Aftermath

Initial response

Imperial's refinery in Louisiana was shut down by the company six weeks after the Port Wentworth disaster, over fears a similar explosion would occur there. It was kept from operating for more than a week. OSHA fined Imperial $36,000 over safety legislation violations at that plant. The Georgia plant's 371 workers continued to receive payment from Imperial, and 275 were rehired to assist with cleanup and demolition of parts of the refinery that could not be salvaged. Work began on April 18, 2008, after Imperial's board confirmed their intention to rebuild. The plan was for the plant to return to sugar refining by the end of 2008. Demolition of the sugar silos was conducted on June 24, 2008, with a

wrecking ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a Crane (machine), crane, that is used for Demolition, demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1940s and 1950s. Several wrecking companies claim to have inve ...

. A replacement packaging building and new sugar silos were intended to be completed by summer 2009. During demolition, of fire-hardened sugar were recovered from one silo, and another from the second silo. The company hoped to recycle the product for

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

production. In the first quarter of 2008, Imperial posted a $15.5 million loss, which they said was primarily due to the explosion. Port Wentworth suffered an

economic depression An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economic downturn that is the result of lowered economic activity in one or more major national economies. It is often understood in economics that economic crisis and the following recession ...

after the accident, with local businesses losing many customers. Imperial was purchased in 2012 by the

Louis Dreyfus Group Louis Dreyfus Company B.V. (LDC) is a French merchant firm that is involved in agriculture, food processing, international shipping, and finance. The company owns and manages hedge funds, Ship management, ocean vessels, develops and operates tele ...

Reports from OSHA and CSB

Within a month of the accident, OSHA, fearing that many employers may be unaware their facilities presented a risk of dust explosions, sent a letter to 30,000 employees to alert them to the danger of a similar explosion occurring. OSHA also proposed the ''Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act of 2008'', a new bill aimed at introducing regulations to reduce the risk of dust explosions."110th Congress, 2d Session. H.R. 5522: Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act of 2008."
''www.gpo.gov'', March 4, 2008. Retrieved December 29, 2014. The bill passed the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

but never passed the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

."Text of the Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2008."
''www.govtrack.us'', May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2015. In 2009 OSHA began developing a federal standard for combustible dust. Congress introduced a bill in 2013 to require OSHA to issue an interim standard based on the voluntary combustible standard set by

National Fire Protection Association The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a U.S.-based international nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property damage, and economic loss due to fire, electrical, and related hazards. , the NFPA claims to have 5 ...

."NFPA 654: Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids."
''www.nfpa.org.'' Retrieved January 12, 2015. The CSB released its report in September 2009, saying the explosion had been "entirely preventable".Dewan, Shaila

'

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', September 24, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2013. It noted that the

sugar industry The sugar industry subsumes the production, Sugar refinery, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, about 80% of sugar is extracted from sugar cane, grown predominantly in the tropics, and 20% from sugar beet, ...

had been aware of the risk of dust explosions since 1926. Specifically, internal company memorandums by managers in 1967 expressed their concern about the potential of explosions from sugar dust. Imperial Sugar had made construction changes before the explosion, that enabled the accumulation of sugar dust. It had never practiced evacuation procedures, and the lack of emergency lighting meant that people were confined to dark hallways and tunnels at the time of the explosions.

Legal issues

Victims of the disaster continued to file claims against Imperial Sugar and its construction contractor. By September 2010, 44 civil suits had been filed in Chatham County Court in relation to the explosion, and eighteen had been settled. The state appeals court rejected an effort by defendants' attorneys for a pre-trial appeal in two related cases in an effort to limit damages. In 2011 Lawrence Manker Jr., an Imperial worker who underwent 70 surgeries for burns covering 85% of his body after the plant explosion, settled his lawsuit with the company for an undisclosed amount. He was the last victim to leave a hospital burn unit."Georgia sugar refinery explosion victim settles lawsuit."
''www.nola.com'', December 7, 2011."Board to rebuke OSHA for failing to write safety rules."

, January 26, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2015. In March 2008, Raquel Islas, a female worker whose arms were burnt, sued

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

-based company Stokes Contracting, which was a contracted construction company. In April 2008, the widow of Shelathia Harvey also sued Stokes, as well as Savannah Foods, which operated the refinery along with Imperial."Widow files lawsuit in sugar refinery blast."
''www.wrdw.com'', April 30, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014. In August 2008, Malcolm Frazier, who suffered burns over 85% of his body, succumbed to his injuries at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center, where he had remained since the explosion.Bynum, Russ
"Burned Georgia plant worker dies 6 months after explosion."
The St. Augustine Record, August 28, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.Bynum, Russ
"Burn victims of Georgia refinery explosion face long, painful recovery."

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

, March 6, 2008. Retrieved December 22, 2008.

"Burn victims in Georgia face long recovery."
''www.msnbc.com'', March 6, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2008. The

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

requested that Ed Tarver, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, pursue criminal prosecution against Imperial and its executives. OSHA cited Imperial with 124 safety violations, finding that the company acted with "plain indifference to, or intentional disregard for, employee safety and health".Hosier, Fred
"No criminal charges in Imperial Sugar explosion that killed 14 workers."
''www.safetynewsalert.com'', March 1, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2015. Tarver said there was not enough evidence of intentional disregard or plain indifference to bring criminal charges against Imperial. He also cited a lack of federal criminal laws specifically related to safety in the sugar industry as a reason for his decision. OSHA fined Imperial $8.8 million in May 2010 after citing the company for 211 violations at the Port Wentworth plant and the plant in Louisiana. After settlement negotiations the company agreed to pay $6 million, while admitting no fault.Muller, Julia
"TIMELINE: Imperial Sugar explosion from 2008 until today."

, February 10, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2014."Scarred Ga. sugar blast victims hope for new rules."

, February 6, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2015.

Monument

On February 7, 2009, a monument honoring the people lost in the explosion was dedicated at Legacy Park, on the grounds of the Port Wentworth plant.

References

External links

"TIMELINE: Imperial Sugar explosion from 2008 until today."
Contains list of fatalities.
Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2008.
(

110th Congress The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of ...

)
"Inferno: Dust Explosion at Imperial Sugar"
CSB safety video.
"How can sugar explode?"
Refers to Imperial Sugar explosion.
Port Wentworth, Georgia: Sugar Explosion Memorial.

Sugar Refinery tribute ceremony.

video archives. {{DEFAULTSORT:Georgia Sugar Refinery Explosion 2008 disasters in the United States 2008 industrial disasters 2008 in Georgia (U.S. state) Sugar industry of the United States Chatham County, Georgia Disasters in Georgia (U.S. state) Dust explosions Explosions in 2008 Food processing disasters History of sugar Industrial fires and explosions in the United States Sugar refineries