CTA Acoustics Dust Explosion and Fire¶
Overview¶
On February 20, 2003, a combustible dust explosion and fire occurred at the CTA Acoustics, Inc. manufacturing plant in Corbin, Kentucky. Seven workers were fatally injured. Thirty-seven others were injured. The final report determined that combustible phenolic resin dust accumulated throughout the facility fueled the explosion. The most credible initiating event was ignition of a dust cloud by a fire that spread from the line 405 oven.
Incident Snapshot¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Facility / Company | CTA Acoustics, Inc. |
| Location | Corbin, KY |
| Incident Date | 02/20/2003 |
| Investigation Status | The Board approved the final report on this investigation at a public meeting in London, Kentucky, on February 15, 2005. |
| Accident Type | Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire |
| Final Report Release Date | 02/15/2005 |
What Happened¶
- At approximately 7:30 am on Thursday, February 20, 2003, a fire and series of explosions occurred at the CTA Acoustics, Inc. facility in Corbin, Kentucky.
- The day shift began at 7:00 am and operators were performing a routine cleaning of the 405 production line.
- The oven continued operating during the cleaning.
- The previous shift had stopped the line in the middle of the night to shake the clogged bags in the baghouse.
- A day-shift operator discovered that the transition leading to the baghouse was plugged.
- Some of the crew went to the roof to unplug it and used a compressed air l
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Same Equipment¶
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Same Root Cause¶
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Same Hazard¶
- AL Solutions Fatal Dust Explosion — Shared hazard: Dust Explosion · Explosion · Fire
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Could this happen in your plant?¶
Find similar incidents in the CSB database:
By equipment: Baghouse · Dust Collector · Oven
By hazard type: Dust Explosion · Fire · Explosion
By industry: Plastics Manufacturing Incidents