Apparent dust explosion injures 3 at Decatur ADM plant
DECATUR — Three workers were injured following an apparent dust explosion Thursday night in one of the grain elevators of the Archer Daniels Midland Co. West Plant, officials said.
Decatur Fire Department crews were called to the processing complex at approximately 9 p.m., Deputy Chief Jim Ohl said.
According to Ohl, there appeared to be a dust explosion in the grain processing area.
“Three of employees were injured and taken to local hospitals,” he said.
The conditions of the employees were unknown Friday afternoon.
The company issued the following release.
“We appreciate the fast response of the Decatur fire department to quickly get the resulting fire under control,” the company said in a prepared statement. “We are investigating the cause of the incident.
Check out these historical photos of ADM’s past in Decatur
1989: Tom Dahman of Lincoln sits atop his trailer to get a view of the line at ADM.
1984: Firefighters and ADM workers (right) ease a basked containing Robert Coan down a ladder against the ‘head house’ of an ADM storage silo on Friday, June 8, 1984. Plant manager Coan of Decatur and Ray Mudd of Oakley were investigating a smoke odor when an explosion occurred in a dust collector. Robert Coan died July 12 of his injuries.
1984: Emergency personnel help Ray Mudd down a stairway at the ADM plant following an explosion. Mudd, 34, of rural Oakley, was one of two workers injured.
1977: Decatur Fire Department personnel work at the scene of a grain dust explosion at ADM.
1977: On the morning of Aug. 30, 1977, ADM employees were crowded into a cinder block building at ADM’s north plant when it exploded. The fire and explosion resulted in injuries to six men, including Steve Huffman, then 20 years old.
1977: Another look at the concrete building that collapsed at ADM’s north plant during an explosion in 1977.
1968: The “world’s largest” soybean extracting unity was put into operation Sept. 1, 1968 by Archer Daniels Midland Co. The huge new facility at the Decatur west plant is still incomplete, but the finishing touches are being applied. This gleaming new extractor can process up to 80,000 bushels of soybeans per day. Lowell W. Andreas, ADM president in 1968, said the target date for completion of company expansion in Decatur is “never.”
This previously unpublished photo shows an ADM plant worker hauling bags of soybeans.
1991: Stacy Need, market communications manager, hoists a box of ADM’s veggie burger mix. ADM sells about 5,000 veggie burgers daily to customers of a Moscow restaurant, and is giving the Soviet McDonald’s a run for its money.
1989: Herb Childress of Ashmore, Chuck Winnett of Charleston and Floyd Hupp of Westfield do some chatting.
1940: Ten truckloads of wildflowers are being planted along the spillway from the Archer Daniels Midland Co. soybean plant, through Faries Park to Lake Decatur. The planting is being done by Decatur Park District workers to beautify the stream that carries water from the soybean mill to the lake. The spillway was constructed by the Park District last fall, and has a series of waterfalls making in one of the showplaces of the country. Bluebells, hepatica, violets, May apples, wild sweet william and several varieties of ferns are being planted. (H&R file photo)
1977: The clarifier, the third step in the treatment process, will remove sludge from waste generated by the Archer Daniels Midland Co. complex. (H&R file photo)
1978: Archer Daniels Midland Co. hosted 31 visitors from the Republic of China. These Chinese officials sampled soybean based products during their visit. (H&R file photo)
1984: Bob Ryan of Archer Daniels Midland Co. explains lettuce production in a hydroponics greenhouse to group of National Outstanding Young Farmer candidates. (H&R file photo)
1967: As part of the Archer Daniels Midland Co. West Plant expansion, 1900 Samuels St., three 15,000-barrel tanks are being moved. The tank at left base. In order to move the tanks, a dike was built and the channel lined with 30,000 square feet of plastic. Water was then pumped into it so the tanks could be floated. At bottom right, a truck tows one of the 50-ton oil tanks down the canal. When the expansion was announced, it was to double the facilities. (H&R file photo)
1942: Cars are parked outside of Archer Daniels Midland Co.
