Sugar Refinery Starts Up

More than a year after a deadly explosion, the Imperial Sugar Company in Port Wentworth near Savannah is back in the sugar business.
On Tuesday, employees fired up the boiler. They plan to start shipping liquid sugar this week. A week later shipments of crystal sugar will follow.
Back in February of 2008 an explosion ripped through the plant, killing 14 people. Investigators determined the blast was caused by an accumulation of sugar dust that ignited like gunpowder.
The company is in the midst of rebuilding the facility at a cost of more than 200-million dollars. The majority of those costs will be paid by insurance. The company's 350 employees have been working on getting the plant ready. Several lawsuits filed by victims of the explosion are still pending.

Imperial Resumes Sugar Refining In Georgia

For the first time in 16 months since a deadly explosion at its plant, Imperial Sugar has resumed refining crystal sugar in Georgia. Top executives with the Texas-based company are scheduled to mark the new startup of the nation's second-largest sugar refinery today in Port Wentworth near Savannah. The explosion at the plant on Feb. 7 of last year killed 14 people.

Imperial warned of dust hazards years before explosion

Fourteen people died as the result of an explosion at the Imperial sugar refinery near Savannah last February. Six months later, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined dust was the culprit. OSHA says Imperial Sugar managers knew of the problem for years and refused to fix it. OSHA slapped the company with an 8.7 million dollar fine. Victims filed their own lawsuits.

Now, today the Savannah Morning News publicized reports showing consultants warned the company of the hazards years before the blast.

From a 2005 report: “One major problem is still the strength of dust extraction. This is so weak that the powder sugar is not transported away from the machine.”

A subsequent 2006 report reads, “The system is plugged up… the units you have were state of the art… in the early 60’s.”

And another report obtained by the Savannah Morning News says that in 2008, one of six collection systems had major difficulties collecting explosive sugar dust.

Brent Savage represents 12 of the victims. "The fact that they were advised to get new dust collectors and didn’t do it," says Savage. "They were not doing the right thing… they were indifferent to these problems." Savage says his clients are angry.

Imperial Sugar says it didn’t receive the 2008 findings until after the explosion, and as for other reports… speaking on behalf of Imperial Sugar, Steve Behm issued this statement via email: Imperial did take action in terms of repairs and maintenance to its dust collection systems prior to the February 7, 2008 explosion, along with many other efforts towards improving safety at the facility.

Imperial Sugar has appealed OSHA’s fine. Savage says that case will likely be tied up in courts until 2010, but he expects the victims' lawsuits to move forward by the end of the year.

Chambliss faces subpoena

U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss has been subpoenaed to answer questions about whether a sugar company enlisted him to escape blame in a deadly explosion at a Georgia refinery. Savannah attorney Mark Tate is representing four workers killed in the February 7th explosion in Port Wentworth near Savannah. Tate says his clients claim Chambliss tried to talk them out of suing the company. The subpoena comes just before the Nov. 4 election in which Chambliss is in a close race with Democrat Jim Martin.

(Associated Press)

Imperial Sugar begins rebuild in Port Wentworth

Imperial Sugar has broken ground on portions of its Port Wentworth refinery devastated by a deadly explosion. The blast damaged three storage silos beyond repair and completely destroyed a packaging plant. Fourteen employees were killed and dozens more injured in the February blast. Investigators blame the explosion on a buildup of combustible sugar dust.

Wednesday's groundbreaking makes good on a company promise, made just days after the explosion, to rebuild. Workers are being retrained to work in the new facility. Imperial Sugar hopes to complete construction by the summer of next year.

Meanwhile, an 8.7 million dollar fine hangs over the plant. The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration recommended the fine for egregious violations of safety standards.

'Graduation' for group of sugar refinery workers

Two dozen employees of the Imperial Sugar refinery near Savannah had a ‘graduation’ of sorts last night. The group of workers received certificates for their completion of a training program run in connection with Savannah Technical College. The workers completed 180 hours of training since June in a program to upgrade job skills. The program follows the deadly explosion at the Imperial sugar plant six months ago in Port Wentworth.

Imperial Sugar Co exec to testify

An executive with the Imperial Sugar Company is expected to testify later today to Congress about conditions at the Georgia plant that led to a deadly February explosion. The vice president of operations for Imperial will testify along with several other safety experts--those including the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the chair of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. A Senate subcommittee has been examining the accident at the Port Wentworth plant after federal investigators found numerous safety violations. Just last week, OSHA proposed nearly nine-million dollars in fines.

U.S. House considers dust safety

The U.S. House is considering a bill today designed after a deadly sugar plant blast on the Georgia coast. The measure would require businesses to follow new safety standards on combustible dust. Experts believe sugar dust caused the February 7th blast at Imperial Sugar Refinery in Port Wentworth which killed 13 people.

Refinery blast victims released

Two more burn victims from the Port Wentworth sugar refinery explosion have been released from Doctors Hospital in Augusta. Only five of the original 20 injured in the blast remain hospitalized. 13 workers were killed in the Feb. 7 tragedy.

Two more refinery blast patients released

Two more burn patients injured from the sugar refinery blast near Savannah in February have been released from a hospital in Augusta. A third is expected to be released later today from the Joseph M. Still Burn Center. With those patients being discharged--of an original 20--that will leave only five patients still being treated at the Augusta facility. Five patients have died at the hospital. The refinery blast of February 7th in Port Wentworth was fatal to 13 workers, and injured dozens others.

Refinery explosion victim leaves hospital in Augusta

Another victim of the sugar refinery explosion at Port Wentworth in February has been discharged from the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta.

The patient, as well as four others, are receiving rehab at the hospital. Six remain hospitalized there. Three are in critical condition, while one is in serious condition and two more are in fair condition.

Thirteen people have died as a result of the explosion.

Lawsuit filed in sugar refinery blast

An employee of the sugar refinery near Savannah that exploded last month has filed a lawsuit. Raquel Islas filed the suit in state court against a company that was hired to clean dust at the refinery. Islas' attorney says Stokes Contracting is not responsible for the ignition that led to the blast, but should be liable for punitive damages because the company failed to clean and dispose-of sugar dust. The February 7th explosion at the refinery in Port Wentworth killed 13 people.

Fed official: Lack of 'housekeeping' to blame for refinery blast

Simple housekeeping of industrial dust could have prevented the deadly explosion at a sugar refinery near Savannah--that from the head of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. The official says "snow-like accumulations" of dust built up at the Port Wentworth plant, leading to the February 7th explosion that killed 12 people and injured dozens more.

The official says factors that led to this accident fit in line with a pattern of similar incidents in recent years--all of which were preventable.

12th sugar plant blast victim dies

Imperial Sugar plant the morning after the blast and blaze. (/AP Photo)

A twelfth person has died as a result of an explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery earlier this month. Another patient died Tuesday evening at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta. According to spokeswoman Beth Frits, eleven patients from the plant in Port Wentworth remained in critical condition at the Augusta hospital, and another was in serious condition. Investigators say the explosion at the refinery near Savannah February 7th was fueled by airborne sugar dust. They have not yet determined what ignited it.

Click here for more GPB News reports about the disaster.

11th worker dies from sugar refinery explosion

A hospital spokeswoman says another patient has died from injuries suffered in the Imperial Sugar refinery explosion.

Beth Frits of the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital says one of the hospital's 15 patients died Saturday evening. Hospital officials declined to release the patient's name.

A total of 11 workers died from the February 7 blast at the refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia.

Investigators say the explosion was fueled by airborne sugar dust but they have not yet determined what ignited the dust.

Fourteen other patients remained Sunday at the Augusta hospital, including 12 in critical condition and two in serious condition.

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the Imperial Sugar refinery disaster.

Some employees back to work at sugar plant

About 120 employees of the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth--roughly a third of the workforce--have returned to the site for work. The company’s president says the returning workers are needed to help ship over 100 truckloads of bagged sugar that were undamaged from the explosion and fire at the plant February 7th. The explosion resulted in the deaths of nine people, with dozens injured. 16 people remain in the hospital. The packaging area was destroyed in the incident. Less damaged was the refinery itself, although it remains closed. Company officials hope to finish repairs and new construction for the plant by the end of this year.

Earlier explosion determined at sugar refinery

A federal investigator on the scene of the deadly sugar refinery blast near Savannah says there was an explosion weeks before at the site. It was determined dust in a piece of safety equipment caused the earlier explosion--no people were injured in that incident. It cannot be said whether that explosion contributed to the deadly blast February 7th that killed nine people at the Port Wentworth refinery. It’s believed a build-up of sugar dust beneath the silos was the cause of the large deadly explosion.

Sugar Refinery Blast Victims Mourned

Imperial Sugar employee Dave Fish, right, and his wife, Heather, hold candles in front of the Our Lady of the Lourdes Catholic Church during a vigil on Saturday in Port Wentworth, Ga. (Stephen Morton/AP)

Hundreds of family, friends and co-workers on Saturday mourned employees killed in a deadly Georgia sugar refinery explosion.

Nine people died at Imperial Sugar last week when sugar dust ignited earlier this month in Port Wentworth.

More than 250 people filled the pews of Immanuel Baptist Church to memorialize 54-year-old Truitt Byers of Savannah. He is one of four employees whose funerals are being held Saturday.

The minister told Byers' wife and two children during the service they should not be afraid to cry or ask questions about the tragedy.

Byers worked as an operator mechanic for 22 years at the refinery, which produces Dixie Crystals brand sugar.

Wreaths at the front gate of the Imperial Sugar Company in memoriam for employees who died in the conflagration. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the Imperial Sugar refinery disaster.

(The Associated Press)

Sugar refinery fires extinguished

The fires are out at the site of the exploded sugar refinery in Port Wentworth near Savannah. Firefighters yesterday put-out the final stubborn flames, this setting the stage for further investigation to move ahead into how the explosion happened eight days ago. Eight people are confirmed dead, including one of the burn victims who died in an Augusta hospital yesterday morning. One worker remains missing at the refinery site. 16 remain in the Augusta hospital being treated for their injuries.

Lawmakers seek answers in refinery blast

Georgia Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss are calling for a federal investigation into last week’s deadly explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth. The blast killed eight people and injured dozens. The senators hope a “complete and thorough investigation” will shed light on causes of the tragedy and ways to improve factory safety.