[Music] Narrator: Display fireworks,
enjoyed by millions across the country. But fireworks are explosives that
require great care in handling and storage and particularly when attempting to dispose of them. April 8, 2011, a tragedy
in Waipahu, Hawaii, near Honolulu. An explosion and fire killed
five workers at a hillside storage facility, used by Donaldson Enterprises, Inc. or DEI. The company had been hired by a federal contractor to
dispose of illegal fireworks seized by the government. The Chemical Safety Board investigated
and found that there are no national standards for safely disposing of fireworks and the
company's procedures were extremely unsafe. Moure-Eraso: Fireworks have been around for centuries, so we were surprised to learn that there are
no good practice procedures for their disposal. And we also found that the federal government
did not require fireworks disposal contractors to demonstrate that they could perform the work safely. [Music] Narrator: When federal agencies seize illegal imports, they are typically turned over to a single large
federal contractor for storage, sale or disposal. That contractor is the VSE Corporation
of Alexandria, Virginia. From 2007 to 2010, federal Customs agents seized three
imported fireworks shipments entering Honolulu from China. The fireworks had been labeled for consumer use, but
actually were far more powerful professional display grade. The illegal fireworks were
eventually turned over to VSE for disposal. VSE subcontracted the work to DEI, a small Hawaii-based company that
specialized in the destruction of military explosives. Johnson: VSE Procurement
selected DEI for several reasons. DEI was a local company already storing
the seized fireworks in the hillside facility and its proposal was determined to be
the best overall value for the government. VSE was unaware that despite
DEI's military ordnance background, the company had no experience with fireworks' disposal. Narrator: With no good practice standards to follow, DEI improvised a disposal plan and submitted it to VSE,
which approved it, deferring to DEI as the expert. DEI's plan was to soak the fireworks in
diesel fuel up to 48 hours, desensitizing them, so they could be burned without exploding. Work began in the summer of 2010, under a tent
outside of the cave-like storage facility or magazine, where DEI had been keeping the fireworks. After soaking the fireworks, DEI personnel
transported them to a local shooting range to be burned. But there was a problem. Some fireworks were not just burning,
but were exploding. The diesel fuel was not
penetrating the aerial shells well enough. DEI then decided to disassemble these firework tubes
by hand and cut one-inch slits in the aerial shells, so the diesel fuel would soak in better. But CSB investigators found that the company
did not follow good process safety principles by analyzing the hazards of this new disposal method. Jones: Disassembling the fireworks was
a major change to the disposal process. Good safety practice would have
called for a thorough hazard analysis, as well as a comprehensive review of the
potential safety impacts of the proposed change. Narrator: But this was never done. Instead, in March 2011, to speed up the process,
DEI changed its protocol yet again. Now DEI workers began filling separate cardboard boxes
with aerial shells and loose black powder, a highly explosive mixture of charcoal, sulfur and
potassium nitrate, used to propel the fireworks into the air. Jones: Once again, DEI did not analyze the
safety implications of the procedure change. This procedure dramatically increased
the explosive hazards inside the magazine. Narrator: Ali Reza is an explosives expert and
worked with the CSB on the DEI investigation. Reza: As you're physically breaking up
the fireworks and separating these charges, you're exposing yourself to the black powder. Once you have loose black powder in
contact with materials that can create friction, an ignition is extremely likely. Narrator: On the morning of April 8, 2011,
under the tent outside of the magazine, five DEI employees were taking apart
one-inch firework tubes known as "sky festivals." A sixth worker was cleaning up inside. Using metal tools, the DEI workers cut the firework tubes and separated out the aerial shells and the black powder. Around 8:30 a.m., as the workers continued to
take the fireworks apart, it started raining. The six DEI employees
began moving the boxes of black powder, aerial shells and partially disassembled fireworks
to just inside the magazine. One used a metal hand truck. In addition, the workers brought in folding metal chairs,
a rolling office chair and the metal tools. Five employees remained inside the magazine,
as the supervisor stepped outside to make a phone call. Just before 9:00 a.m., there was a loud explosion. Fireworks began shooting out of the magazine entrance
as the supervisor scrambled to escape. As the blaze spread, fireworks continued to ignite. The explosion and fire fatally injured the
five Donaldson employees inside the magazine. One victim was in his 50s;
the other four were young men in their 20s. The CSB determined the explosion was like triggered
when pyrotechnic powder on the floor of the magazine was ignited by heat, shock or friction,
as DEI employees moved materials around inside. Another possible ignition source,
static from household trash bags that were being used to line the boxes of black powder. Jones: While the exact ignition source
could not be determined, strong possibilities include friction from the office chair rolling over the loose explosive powder
on the magazine floor or a metal spark from the hand truck, which was blown over 100 feet from the
magazine entrance when the explosion occurred. Narrator: Once the powder ignited, fire likely
spread to the boxes of disassembled firework components, setting off the mass explosion. [Sound of explosion] Jones: The CSB found the root causes of the
explosion went far beyond DEI's flawed procedures. For instance, we found there are no federal,
state or local codes, regulations or standards that establish safety requirements or provide
guidance on proper ways to dispose of fireworks. Reza: There is significant backlog of seized fireworks that are being stored legally in
magazines all across the country, because there is no good mechanism to dispose of them. Narrator: The OSHA process safety management standard
covers the manufacturing of fireworks, but not their disposal. Instead, the disposal of confiscated fireworks
is regulated by the EPA under the federal Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act or RCRA. But RCRA regulations focus primarily on protecting the
environment from hazardous waste, not on worker safety. In its final report, the CSB recommended
that the EPA improve its regulations to require rigorous safety management practices
for fireworks disposal. Reza: Some fire departments and police
departments have developed procedures where they try to destroy illegal fireworks. And the problem that you run into is because there
is no industry best practice or industry guideline; they use their judgment in developing procedures. And clearly what we saw in Hawaii
is the judgment that was exercised was not good enough and it caused
five workers to lose their lives. Narrator: Around the country accidents continue to occur when fireworks disposal methods are improvised in the absence of regulations
and good practice guidelines. For example, on the fourth of July in 2012, a volunteer was killed in an explosion
when he and others were using an earthen pit to dispose of fireworks that had not functioned properly
during a display in Lansing, Kansas. As a result of these incidents, the CSB recommended
that the National Fire Protection Association develop specific guidance
for the safe disposal of fireworks. The CSB said the guidance should at a minimum
discourage the disassembly of fireworks as a method of disposal and minimize
the accumulation of explosive materials. Jones: Safety guidelines and regulations are crucial for conducting hazardous activities
such as fireworks disposal, but it is equally important that
throughout the contracting process, government agencies and other
organizations consider health and safety. Narrator: Federal law enforcement agencies
seize a wide range of items around the country, from cars to livestock to handbags and perfume, as well
as hazardous materials, such as fireworks and explosives. VSE Corporation, the government's prime contractor
for disposal of these goods, lacked expertise in fireworks disposal and had awarded the subcontract to DEI without
evaluating the company's qualifications or proposed methods. In addition, when DEI twice modified its disposal procedure,
VSE did not object, believing DEI to be the expert. But the CSB found that the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which governs how federal contracts
are awarded and managed, does not require safety to be considered when determining the qualifications of a potential contractor or subcontractor. And neither do supplemental contracting
regulations from the Treasury Department, which awarded VSE the government's
prime contract to handle seized property. Other federal agencies,
such as the Department of Defense, have developed specialized safety requirements for
contractors who work with ammunition and explosives. But in the case of VSE and DEI, this kind
of strict contractor oversight was lacking. The Board's final report recommend
that the Federal Acquisition Regulation be amended to require reviews of
company safety records and training and the ability to safely handle hazardous materials
prior to receiving federal contracts. And the Board urged the Treasury Department
to develop a new policy for selecting contractors and subcontractors
that handle explosives, including fireworks, based on the Defense Department's
more rigorous safety requirements. The key CSB findings, fireworks disposal
accidents can be prevented ... [Sound of explosion] through comprehensive safety requirements, adequate contractor selection and oversight
and new good practice guidelines, standards and regulations. Moure-Eraso: The explosion and fire that killed
five Donaldson Enterprises employees was preventable. The CSB believes that workers involved in
fireworks disposal deserve to be better protected. Thank you for watching this CSB Safety Video. Narrator: For more information on the CSB's
Donaldson Enterprises investigation, please visit CSB.gov. [Music]
Video clearly and repeatedly says 5 died. The “supervisor” survived because he got a phone call and had to leave the kill zone.
Those were my ex’s best friends in high school. It was pretty tragic.
I've watched it and my only question was did they use metal tools? Even if it was their first time doing something like they should have known... Still its somehow a tragedy
Literally just dunk it in a bowl of water and it’s done
It seems like they won a contract for something they knew nothing about, I try to stay away from the same like just the other day I saw a contract involving gas tanks and I said to myself no way Jose
Job done, I guess