Question: What caused the January 30th, 2007, explosion that killed four people In Ghent, West Virginia?
Water Cutting to Dissect Propane Tank and Further Investigate Valve Malfunction.
Problem: We had to analyze a propane tank and find the failure mechanism.
A federal evidence holding pen was created on our property where we kept the propane tank that we needed to investigate.
Thirty (30) attorneys and legal representatives were invited to watch the testing procedure along with Federal Investigators.
We built a data acquisition system to record the test, which showed that a check lock valve had failed and allowed the propane to escape during a standard transfer.
A ship dismantling crew was brought to the Extreme Endeavors headquarters to use specialized, portable water cutting tools to safely remove the valve from the propane tank.
Radiography imaging was then used to further analyze the failure mechanisms of the check valve.
Results of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation
