INSTITUTE --
State and federal agencies are looking into the cause of Thursday's explosion at the Bayer Crop Science Plant in Institute.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board will hold a press conference along with Kanawha County commissioners and emergency personnel at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The purpose is for the board to announce its investigation into the cause of the explosion.
The board is an independent agency created by Congress through the Clean Air Act.
-----ORIGINAL STORY------
One person was killed and another was injured in an explosion late Thursday at a unit of the Bayer CropScience Plant in Institute.
The explosion occurred in the waste section of the plant, but the extent of the damage, as well as the cause, is still unknown.
A heavy fire could be seen for miles.
Barry Withrow, whose age is unknown, was killed in the fire. Bill Oxley was injured in the explosion. He was transported to CAMC General before being transferred to the burn center at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh.
The plant's emergency sensors did not indicate any substantial toxic chemicals were released outside of the plant. There was a sulfur smell in the area following the fire, but authorities said it was not harmful to the public.
During a press conference Friday afternoon, Nick Cosby, the site manager at the plant, said Withrow was "a model employee" and had "gone the extra mile" during his time on the job.
Cosby said state and some federal investigators were on scene and trying to determine what caused the blast.
That section of the plant is only operational for five to seven months out of the year and crews working when the blast occurred were in the process of bringing it back online, Cosby said.
He said there was no evidence that a safety procedure had been violated.
Withrow's body was taken to the State Medical Examiner's Office in South Charleston.
Interstate 64, Routes 25 and 60, and the Dunbar Bridges were closed for almost four hours while the plant was being secured. Those roads reopened just after 2 a.m.
A shelter-in-place alert was also put into effect for western Kanawha County and the cities of Institute, St. Albans, Jefferson, South Charleston, Instituted and Dunbar. That shelter in place was lifted also about 2 a.m.
Weather conditions throughout the evening, mostly the lack of wind and rain, helped contain the chemicals and fight the spread of the toxins. However, the evening fog that covered the area had some concerned that the chemicals could have been more wide-spread.
West Virginia State University was also under the shelter-in-place, all students are safe, and classes went on as scheduled Friday.
A five-member investigation team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board is expected on the scene. The investigative team will be accompanied by CSB Chairman and CEO John Bresland, who will serve as the principal spokesperson. A release from the board says the team is expected to arrive late Friday evening.
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards and safety management systems, the release said.
For more information about the explosion, the public may contact the Emergency Operation Center at any of the following numbers:
(304) 746-8828
(304) 746-8738
(304) 746-8739
(304) 746-8740
The public is asked NOT to call 911.
Larvin, the chemical being produced in this section of the plant, is an insecticide used on multiple crops including corn, cotton, and many other vegetables
Stay with 13 News and wowktv.com for the latest information as it becomes available.
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Story Update 8/29 7pm
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