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All the latest updates from Atex Explosion Hazards.
Factory owner indicted on manslaughter charges
US
A plant owner in Colebrook New Hampshire has been indicted on charges of manslaughter and negligent homicide, after two men were killed and another seriously injured.
A report by OSHA officials determined that the explosion took place as the men hand fed powder into an operating machine.
Craig Sanborn, the owner of the plant that once produced gun-powder, was indicted by the Coos County Grand Jury in connection with the May 14 explosion. The men killed were named as Jesse Kennett, 49, and Donald Kendall, 56. A third employee was also injured.
The explosion at Millennium Design Muzzleloaders plant in the Colebrook Industrial Park rocked downtown Colebrook. Coos County Attorney Robert McKeel said, 'the indictments were handed down late on Friday'.
OSHA officials said they were not aware of the plant prior to the explosion, but afterwards concluded there were huge safety problems and blamed Sanborn, who continues to deny being at fault.
Following the investigation, OSHA issued the plant with penalties for workplace safety and health citations, the penalties totaling $1.2 million.
The company initially contested the penalties, but withdrew its notice of contest and agreed that it violated the OSHA Act. The company has certified that it ceased operation “when the 2010 explosion destroyed the facility and put it out of business,” according to OSHA officials.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sanborn, of Maidstone, Vt., the president and primary owner, was barred from ever making explosives again in the future.
