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1 hurt, street shut after Oxnard plant blast
Explosion at asphalt-processing center disrupts traffic
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Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff Officials are investigating the cause of a steam explosion at Tenby Inc. in Oxnard. They believe water condensed inside the 1,000-gallon tank and created a flash explosion when it hit the 400-plus degree asphalt mixture.
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More from Local NewsOne person was injured and an Oxnard thoroughfare shut down for more than 90 minutes Thursday after an explosion at an asphalt-processing plant, authorities said.
The explosion occurred at Tenby Inc. near Del Norte Boulevard and Fifth Street about 7:14 a.m., when water got into a hot asphalt hopper and turned quickly into steam, causing the tank's top to blow off, said Dick Nali, a facility manager at the plant.
The explosion caused a small amount of oil in the tank to catch fire. Firefighters from the Ventura County and Oxnard fire departments responded and quickly extinguished the fire.
An experienced plant employee working on top of the tank, Albert Romo, sustained smoke inhalation injuries when it exploded, Nali said. Romo was treated at a local hospital, said Capt. Barry Parker of the Ventura County Fire Department.
Fifth Street was closed between Pleasant Valley Road and Del Norte until about 9 a.m. Train tracks that run by the plant were closed for about an hour, interrupting the morning commute for some rail travelers, Parker said.
Officials Thursday were still investigating the cause of the steam explosion, but they believe water condensed inside the 1,000-gallon tank and created a flash explosion when it hit the 400-plus degree asphalt mixture, Parker said.
"The fire occurred simply because condensation built up within the hopper, which factory workers tell us is normal during the cold, wet mornings we have been experiencing," he said.
Nali said the roof of a hopper tank is designed to blow off during explosions, but when this one blew off, a small amount of the flammable asphalt mixture caught fire — something he's never seen in his 30 years at the plant.
The tank could cost as much as $60,000 to replace, but it won't adversely affect business, Nali said.
Posted by ebrockway on December 21, 2007 at 10:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How can water condense on the lid of a 400+ degree tank? Seems like the air above the mix would be too hot to allow condensation. Guess the tops aren't insulated, or would that even make a difference?
Posted by GWAR on December 21, 2007 at 1:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Asphalt is made of hydrocarbons, they have hydrogen(an element in water) in them. Heat probably traveled down the tank and the water vaporized, expanding and causing the contents to be released. Flammable vapors from the hydrocarbons in the tank probably reached an ignition source and ignited. That or there is some new additive put into asphalt that may have reacted with the water.
Posted by GWAR on December 21, 2007 at 1:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I meant, flammable gases fram alkanes which are basic molecules in methane(natural gas). Also, water expands 1700 time its liquid state when heated beyond its boiling point.
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