Fire
Started at Chemical Plant Caused by
Static Electricity
Paraphrased
by Steve Waldrop
January 10, 2003
Menasha,
Wisconsin- An employee received minor burns but did not require hospitalization
when vapors ignited by static electricity caused a flash fire at Sun Chemical,
the world's largest manufacturer of high quality printing inks and coatings and
high performance organic pigments.
Neenah-Menasha
Fire Rescue's Fire Captain, Kevin Shelley said a static electricity spark occurred
while the employee was adding a bag of polymide- a dry resin- to a solution of
heptane and alcohol that is used to make ink.
The employee, suffered
minor burns to his hands and arms and was able to return to work shortly after
treatment at the scene of the accident.
Sun Chemical is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Dainippon Ink and Chemical, Inc. of Tokyo, Japan, and has more than
25,000 employees worldwide.
