Adrienne Pedersen reported on the continuing development of an explosion at the Didion Milling Plant in Cambria, WI, for WISN. The body of the last unaccounted for member of the 16-person shift who was on duty the night of the explosion was found the morning of June 5. The three fatalities have been identified as Pawel Tordoff, packing machine operator, Robert Goodenow, forklift driver, and Duelle Block, mill operator.
The explosion is still under investigation, though company officials have commented that a fire that broke out on the Monday before the explosion was unrelated and that the company is confident in the safety protections it has in place. All of the employees at the now defunct plant will stay employed with the company, and will either be transferred or retrained.
The plant was cited for inadequate dust explosion precautions by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2011. The company stated that it took corrective action at the time.
