Cause of Chemical Accident Remains a Mystery

A paper recycling plant in Vernon remained closed Wednesday as state and company experts continued their investigation to determine the source of a cloud of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas that killed one person and sent 38 others to hospitals Tuesday.

“It’s a mystery,” said Russ Rybolt, manager of labor relations and safety for Domtar Gypsum. “There are a number of theories. We are looking at all of them.”

Two Domtar employees remain hospitalized.

Csaba Elekes, 39, was in stable condition at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he underwent treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. Hospital officials said the high-pressure chamber, often utilized to treat scuba divers suffering from “the bends,” was used to force oxygen directly into the injured man’s tissues, which had been severely deoxygenated by the toxic gas.

Sergio Sanchez, 46, was in fair condition at White Memorial Medical Center.

Officials said both men were left semiconscious by the fumes after they crawled into a covered pulp storage vat at the plant in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue Malachi Nash, who was overcome while cleaning the vat. Nash, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene.

None of the firefighters, paramedics and other employees taken to hospitals for treatment required hospitalization.

Rybolt said he and a number of other Domtar officials had been sent from the company’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., to join experts from Cal/OSHA in the investigation.

The vat in which the accident occurred is used to store pulp material--”basically, churned up paper and water, mostly water”--that is subsequently recycled into paper, according to Rybolt. This paper is used to cover the gypsum in the company’s wallboard, which is marketed throughout North America under the trade name Gyproc.

Rybolt said the investigation had confirmed that the gas that felled the three men was hydrogen sulfide. He said that although the pulp can generate hydrogen sulfide as it decomposes, the vat was empty when the accident happened and “we cannot speculate on how the gas got there.”

County fire officials suggested Tuesday that the water Nash was using may have been contaminated with an as yet unknown substance that reacted with chemical residue on the walls of the vat, generating the toxic gas.

Rybolt said that because hydrogen sulfide is slightly heavier than air, the gas pooled in the vat at the time of the accident and did not spread throughout the plant.

“The plant is totally closed today, and probably tomorrow too,” Rybolt said. “We’re making sure there are no additional hazards while we’re determining what caused this.”

He said Domtar has operated for years without any similar accident.