An Asphalt Tank Exploded in Lemont, Leaving a Community Grieving

A deadly explosion and fire at a Seneca Petroleum plant in Lemont has left us shaken. Dru A. Worker, a contractor with M&J Industrial Services, was a beloved high school wrestling coach, and his death is such a loss for the community. Another worker was injured but survived.

ABC 7 Chicago reports that OSHA and ComEd both responded to the explosion, and that Seneca Petroleum doesn’t have any history of OSHA violations at this particular plant. There were no hazardous materials released that could harm anyone in the community, which is a relief – but it doesn’t make the loss of Mr. Worker any less devastating. Our hearts go out to his family, his wrestlers, and everyone who knew and loved him.

We also hope that the injured worker will recover quickly and completely. These types of incidents can cause life-altering injuries; we hope that’s not the case for him or her.

What happened at the petroleum plant in Lemont?

We’re not entirely sure yet. Reports say an asphalt tank exploded. And the truth is that there is a perpetual risk of them exploding at any given time.

About asphalt tanks

We know what asphalt is – the black stuff they paves roads with – but most people don’t know how it’s created. Essentially, asphalt comes from distilling crude petroleum. You mix this distilled petroleum with sand/gravel and you get the material we use to pave roads. In order to make blacktop, though, you have to heat the asphalt. In fact, you have to keep the asphalt hot all the time, if you want to do anything with it.

And that’s what the asphalt tanks are for: they store the material and keep it hot.

Why asphalt tanks explode

Most forms of asphalt are flammable (or at least, they create flammable vapors). Asphalt storage tanks are heated. So you have a flammable substance and a heat source: it’s a recipe for disaster if anything goes wrong.

So our guess, based solely on the evidence presented to us from news reports, is that one of two things happened:

1. Something went horrible, horrible wrong with the tank (or its seals) and that caused the vapors to ignite, leading to an explosion, OR
2. Someone, somewhere made a mistake, and then two workers were the ones to suffer the consequences.

What other damage can a tank explosion cause?

Aside from the most obvious, which is flying, fiery debris that sets other buildings or areas on fire (including non-worksite areas, like local homes), there is also a serious electrical risk. This particular explosion took out some power lines, and downed power lines are a VERY big deal. Workers, site visitors, and passers-by can easily suffer a shock or electrocution. The power lines can spark and start their own fires, too, which means people could potentially suffer severe burn injuries.

Another viable risk – especially when it involves refineries – is HAZMAT leakage and dispersal. Remember that train derailment in East Palestine? An exploding asphalt tank may not pose as great a risk as a derailed train carrying deadly, toxic chemicals – but that doesn’t mean it’s safe.

Why explosions of any kind cause severe injuries

There’s an old movie trope for action films where you see the hero running (or walking slowly and looking very cool while doing it) away from a building. Then, the building explodes, and you see the hero fly forward through the air. It’s a silly scene, but it’s rooted in fact.

An explosion sends out a lot of energy. Here, Gizmodo explains why, using bombs as the cause of the explosion:

When a bomb detonates, the energy released from the explosion radiates outward in all directions at once at speeds between 3 and 9 km per second. As this sphere of energy expands, it compresses and accelerates the surrounding air molecules into a supersonic blast wave. This overpressure only exists for a few milliseconds, but it is the primary cause of explosive injuries and property damage. The closer you are to the source of the blast, the more severe the compression.

The initial concussive force of the blast wave is immediately followed by high-velocity shock waves that impart more energy into whatever they're passing through—be it a concrete wall or your vital organs. As a blast wave passes over an area, it leaves literally nothing behind. That supersonic wall of air leaves a near-perfect vacuum in its wake. So a split second after your body is severely compressed, it is subjected to an equally massive opposing depressurization force.

Unfortunately, the explosion isn't over yet. Air immediately rushes in to fill the atmospheric void left behind by the blast wave, pulling debris and objects back towards the source of the explosion.

Is a tank explosion as severe as a bomb? It could be, depending on a lot of factors. The part that matters, though, is not the force of the explosion, necessarily, but the reaction the human body has to it. Anything that explodes with enough force to knock object over or throw them through the air can wreak havoc on a body:

1. You can sustain skull fractures or broken/crushed bones from the force of hitting another object (like the ground or a wall).
2. You can sustain a TBI because your brain keeps moving around in your skull, leading to coup-contrecoup injuries.
3. You can hemorrhage internally if a blast wave moves through your body. Per the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “the blast wave causes damage to more extensively to air-filled organs. The resulting barotrauma can affect the lungs, auditory organs, the eye, brain, and gastrointestinal tract.” Ruptured ear drums, perforated organs, even “blast eye” – where the globe of the eye ruptures – are possible.
4. You can sustain damage to your spine or spinal cord, resulting in paralysis.
5. You can be impaled by flying debris.

And of course, any and all of these things put together can be fatal.

Who’s liable when there’s an explosion at work?

That can be tricky. It could be the manufacturer of the product that blew up. It could be another person, if negligence caused the explosion.

The real question is, who is going to pay for your losses if you’re injured in an explosion, especially if you’re not eligible for workers’ compensation. And that’s where we come in. These types of incidents usually lead to a lot of finger pointing by insurance companies. Our Chicago injury attorneys get to the heart of the matter as quickly as possible to establish liability, and then we fight to hold those liable parties accountable.

Gainsberg Injury and Accident Lawyers is a full service personal injury firm. If you’ve been injured, let us help. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Chicago injury lawyer.