Overview

This report explains two explosions that took place on January 7, 1998, at an explosives manufacturing facility owned by Sierra Chemical Company, located in Mustang, Nevada. Four workers were killed and six were injured. Safety issues covered in the report include process safety management, process hazard analysis, training, language barriers, operating procedures, building siting, and employee participation. Recommendations concerning these issues were made to Sierra Chemical Company and other companies manufacturing explosives, the Institute of Makers of Explosives, the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Enforcement Section, and the Department of Defense. The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is an independent federal agency with the mission of ensuring the safety of workers and the public by preventing or minimizing the effects of chemical incidents at industrial facilities and in transport. The CSB is a scientific investigatory organization; it is not an enforcement or regulatory body. Established by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the CSB is responsible for determining the probable causes of incidents, issuing safety recommendations, studying chemical safety issues, and evaluating the effectiveness of other government agencies involved with industrial chemical safety. Section 112 (r) (6) (G) of the Clean Air Act prohibits the use of any conclusions, findings, or recommendations of the CSB relating to any chemical incident from being admitted as evidence or used in any lawsuit arising out of any matter mentioned in an investigation report. Congress modeled the CSB after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates aircraft and other transportation accidents for the purpose of improving safety. Like the NTSB, the CSB makes public its actions and decisions through investigation reports, safety studies, safety recommendations, special technical publications, and statistical reviews. More information about the CSB may be found on the World Wide Web at http: //www.chemsafety.go