One Dead and Another Injured Due to Bayer Plant Explosion

On the night of August 28th, 2008, an explosion took place at the Bayer Cropscience Plant n West Virginia. Road were closed and residents of Kanawha County were told by the Kanawha Metro 911 to keep inside of their homes for their own safety. The fire was still ablaze at 1:40 A.M. One worker of the Bayer Cropscience Plant was killed by the explosion, and another was burned. The burnt worker was sent to the hospital.

At first, emergency workers thought methomyl, a highly hazardous pesticide, had been involved in the explosion last night. Methomyl can cause people exposed to it to die from However, the chemical that was really involved was methyl isobutyl ketone and is nontoxic to humans. Residents of the area are now able to go outside of their homes without worrying if their air that they breathe in can kill them.

Apparently, this has not been the first explosion in the plant's histor. Another one took place in the same area in 1993.

Sources / More Information:

"UPDATE: Officials Confirm 1 Dead, 1 Burned in Plant Explosion." 28 Aug. 2008. 29 Aug. 2008 <http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/27642199.html>.

"EXTOXNET PIP- METHOMYL." June 1996. 29 Aug. 2008 <http://extoxnet.orst.edu/pips/methomyl.htm>.