25 July 2008 - An Imperial Sugar Co executive is expected to testify next week that he warned the company about the hazards of sugar dust at a US refinery months before it was destroyed in an explosion.
The blast at Imperial Sugar’s Port Wentworth plant, in Georgia, on 7 February killed 13 people.
US sources report that Vice President of Operations for the firm, Graham H. Graham, will tell a Senate Subcommittee, that he told his employer the amount of sugar dust at the facility was disturbing.
Leader of the subcommittee on Employment & Workplace Safety Senator Patty Murray confirmed Mr Graham would be giving evidence about dust conditions at the plant.
Government investigators have found that sugar dust played an important part in fuelling the explosion that sparked a fire which engulfed the 160-acre site and took a week to extinguish.
The incident caused some to question the effectiveness of how robustly safety measures in the sugar industry relating to dust explosions are policed and called for a tightening up of regulations, local media reported.
Imperial Sugar’s Chief Executive John Sheptor confirmed Mr Graham was employed to review and improve safety at the company’s plants. Emails sent between company executives reportedly show the sugar giant was taking Mr Graham’s advice and supported his work.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is today expected to deliver the findings of its inquiries into the blast and fire, with Mr Sheptor admitting that he expected the citations to be “significant”.