Worker dies after explosion at Tennesee chemical plant

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A man has died after he was injured in an explosion Thursday at a chemical plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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The Chattanooga Fire Department said that at around 9 a.m. Thursday, they were called about a commercial fire. There were reports that one of the workers at the liquid nitriding facility was burned and his coworkers were trying to put out the fire, which they did. Once crews arrived, they went to treat the patient.

The fire department said that the facility has “a state-of-the-art salt bath nitriding line.” That line has large cylinders that have a hot solution inside them that reacts with water. Crews said that there was some kind of chemical reaction that happened which caused an explosion.

The patient was taken to the hospital with severe injuries, fire crews said.

Three other workers were treated for minor burns, WDEF reported.

A spokesman for the Tennessee Occupational Health and Safety Administration (TOSHA) confirmed to WTVC that the worker died from his injuries. His name has not yet been released.

Chris Cannon of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development said that a Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) investigator will be go to the scene to get more information, the news outlet reported. He said that workplace death investigations could take up to six months.

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