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.

U.S. House considers new combustible dust rules

The U.S. House is considering legislation that would impose new safety standards to protect workers from combustible dust explosions. The measure comes in response to the explosion that killed 13 people at the Imperial Sugar refinery outside Savannah on February 7th. House Democrats favor the bill’s passage, while Republicans want to wait for results of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s investigation before considering new regulations. The White House has threatened to veto the measure in its current form.

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)

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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.

One of sugar plant burn victims dies

One of the 17 burn victims of last week's sugar plant explosion has died. 40-year-old Michael Kelly Fields died a little after 2 o'clock this morning at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta. 16 people are still being treated for their injuries at the Center--14 of which are listed as critical.

At the site of the Imperial Sugar Company in Port Wentworth near Savannah, workers recovered a seventh body at the scene Wednesday. Fires in the main building of the refinery were put-out yesterday, but flames were still active in the 80-foot tall silos as of late Wednesday. Georgia Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson are calling on the federal government to launch a complete and thorough investigatioin into the explosion from last Thursday.