SPANISH FORK — How close is too close to an explosive?
With Utah and particularly Utah County populations growing ever closer to a pair of explosives manufacturers, is the risk getting greater?
It has been eight years since a man was killed in an explosion at the Ensign-Bickford plant, formerly known as the Trojan explosives plant, in Spanish Fork. And nearly a decade has passed since the last serious injury at Dyno Nobel, formerly known as IRECO, on the west side of Utah Lake.
Before 1994, there was an injury accident almost every year at one or the other. In 1989, seven men were hurt at IRECO. In 1983, four men were killed.
Both companies say the improved safety records are tied to paying stricter attention to safety procedures so even though homes are being built closer every day, Utahns don't have to be anxious over their proximity to explosive plants.
"Statistically, it's safer to work in the explosives industry than in construction," said Kevin Hansen, Dyno Nobel's plant manager.
Dyno Nobel, which provides explosives for the mining industry, has 3,000 acres on the lakeshore hillside. Some plant property is only a mile from one of Saratoga Springs' residential developments. "Our products are safe. We have the system built up. We have lots of regulations and rules."
"Even the wildlife knows they're safe," said test site manager Dennis Sorensen as he feeds a pet squirrel outside the bunker. "They hear the sirens go off, they hide, but the rest of the time, they're all over the place, as are the deer."
"We have deer that actually live here," said Peter Barnett, plant manager for the Ensign-Bickford Spanish Fork facility.
The employees at Ensign-Bickford take apart old bombs and recover the residual explosive material to reuse in cast boosters and blasting caps, marketing over 1 million pounds of explosives in a single year.
The work is dangerous simply because the bombs are old and the TNT in them is sometimes unstable. Employees are also working with volatile raw materials such as nitric acid.
"It's good for us to remember it can happen," Barnett said. "That's why we have our training center named after the man who was killed in 1994, Arthur Dix."
Ensign-Bickford controls 500 acres, built in and around the natural hills just outside the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. At any given time, there are usually a couple of hundred thousand pounds of explosive material stored on site.
"We're separated by enough distance in a lot of small buildings that we're pretty safe. Ensign-Bickford errs on the high side," Barnett said. "We believe in more space for less. We're also built into the hills so we have a lot of natural buffers."
Years ago, in 1935, the Trojan plant was totally isolated. It wasn't even necessary to have the property fenced. Today, the entire perimeter is enclosed with two sets of fences, and there's a security system with gates and guards.
At Dyno Nobel, there was also a sense of remoteness replaced today by high-tech security designed to keep out hunters and the curious.
"In 1957, we were in complete isolation," Hansen said. "There was no need to go any further. Even in the early '80s there were only a few residences close by. Now we have people building all along the lake shore and right up against our buffer. We know it'll be a big issue in the future, particularly with the noise."
The noise from the blasting, even though it sometimes startles the employees who are used to it, is not damaging, Hansen said.
"We found the noise levels are really no more than a slammed door or a big truck driving by."
Dyno Nobel makes bulk emulsions from products that are combustible if they are brought together but are safe if stored apart. Products that accidentally exploded years back are no longer stored on site and involved much more sensitive material than emulsions.
Former Congressman Merrill Cook's father, Melvin A. Cook, invented the slurry blasting agents in 1956, replacing dangerous dynamite products and making industry use safer as well as more cost-effective. He founded IRECO Chemicals, and his son operated Cook's Slurry for many years west of Utah Lake.
Sorensen tests the Dyno Nobel products nearly every day and usually several times a day to make certain they detonate as expected. He also wants to know how fast a product burns, how much impact the explosive has and the velocity of the explosion.
"We want our products to go off, that's our biggest concern," he said. "Seismic explosives, for instance, that are used to drill for oil, have to shoot off really fast."
Only three complaints have been lodged against the plant in the past three years. Before that time, complaints were much more common, especially when the blasts resonated across the lake during an inversion.
"We're always looking for way to attenuate the noise. We avoid the large shots if we can and modify our tests based on the weather," Hansen said. "Oftentimes we're blamed for noise that's not ours. It may be from construction or from Camp Williams."
Ensign-Bickford blast tests every day at 1:30 p.m. Dyno Nobel blows up product between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and never on weekends or when there's a wind from the north.
Fires near the plants have been a concern, especially when fire burns up close and firefighters may be expected to protect a storage building filled with combustible product.
The fire along the lake two years ago actually burned right through the Dyno Nobel facility without doing great harm. "Our facility has taken away the natural fuel, and our magazines are well-protected," Hansen said.
The Trojan wildfire in 1994 threatened the buildings and burned more than 2,000 acres. It cost more than û800,000 to fight.
"Our normal mode is, don't fight explosive fires, stand clear," Barnett said. "The hardest thing is to get firefighters to hold back."
During the working day, employees must wear safety glasses and shoe covers. They cannot smoke around the buildings or wear any kind of jewelry.
They wear breathing apparatus and change clothes and shower as they come and go from work.
Most of the employees, which includes men and women, have been with their company for many years. Turnover is less than 2 percent a year.
In 1999, 138 manufacturers in Utah were listed as licensed with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to make, store or ignite explosive materials.
In 2002, only 57 were listed from Snowville to Cedar City, but that list includes private citizens, drilling, mining and construction companies along with stage show companies like Ballet West, the Tuacahn Center and the Utah State University Chase Fine Arts Center to American Azide Corp., which manufactures sodium azide to use in deploying air bags.
In addition, there are nine fireworks dealers listed with the state fire marshal and several military installations, including the Dugway Proving Grounds, the Deseret Chemical Storage at the Tooele Army Base, Camp Williams and Hill Air Force Base.
"Explosives are a booming business, if you will," said Barnett.
Sorensen doesn't believe the public understands the demand for good explosives.
"Without us, without explosives, we'd have nothing. It all comes out of the ground," Sorensen said.
Accident history in Utah County
August 1994: One man killed at Trojan, two others hurt in detonation accident.
September 1994: Wildfire linked to Trojan, burns 2,135 acres, costs $886,725.
September 1992: Several injured at IRECO plant on Lake Mountain in emulsion explosion.
April 1989: Employee hurt at Trojan, loses finger and hearing.
February 1989: Seven hurt, four buildings destroyed in Trojan accident.
April 1987: One killed in explosion when pipe from Trojan explodes at Swenson Metal Salvage.
January 1983: Four killed, primer plant leveled at IRECO.
1981: Blast levels a building at IRECO.
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com