Hornady factory incident

Working with stuff that goes kaboom... Is dangerous.
It sure is. I wonder what caused it? Safety is really strict in these plants. I worked on a project in a nitrocellulose plant eons ago. The safety procedures were very strict for obvious reasons.
 
It sure is. I wonder what caused it? Safety is really strict in these plants. I worked on a project in a nitrocellulose plant eons ago. The safety procedures were very strict for obvious reasons.
We had a shipmate go ka-blooey in the department where they made liquid oxygen for the pilots to breathe. Lots of strict safety measures in place on an aircraft carrier, too. But eventually... ka-boom. A matter of when. The risks are assumed.

In my 2 years on the ship, we lost 4 men.
 
Wow. I’ve read that oxygen generators can be dangerous if mishandled.
 
In the late 90's, improper handling of oxygen generators took down a ValueJet plane in the Florida Everglades. Nobody survived. That fire burned so hot and so fast they didnt have time to turn around after takeoff.
 
I saw my share of gruesome industrial accidents, some fatal, when I was working as a field engineer in all kinds of process industries... power, drilling, refining, chem, pulp and paper, etc. I was personally involved in a bad accident where someone was killed. It was a miracle that I survived it with no serious injuries. That was sort of a wake-up call for me but it wasn't the reason I got out of that business and made a radical career change. The truth is, it just wasn't fun anymore. I also knew that years of being around toxic chemicals shorten your life. Ironically, I increased my odds of getting killed in a violent confrontation as an FSO. After that, VIP private security. Go figure. Life's an adventure and I have always been drawn to that like a junkie for a fix.
 
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This is the first I have heard about the incident at Hornady's. My condolences to the guy's family and friends.

A few years ago, there was an explosion at the Goex factory in Louisiana that makes black powder. The company was eventually sold to Estes Energetics and just recently began producing holy black again. The shortage of powder put a serious crimp in the muzzle loading world.
 
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