Chocolate factory explosion in Pennsylvania, US, kills 7

At least seven people were killed as a result of an explosion Tuesday at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania, US that occurred due to a natural gas leak from a defective fitting, according to federal safety investigators as they continued to investigate the cause of the blast.

The explosion that occurred at the RM Palmer Co plant in West Reading levelled one building and left another building severely damaged

According to an investigative update released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), there happened to be two leaks at the factory, one of which occurred due to a fracture in a gas fitting that was installed in 1982 while the other was the result of a natural gas fitting installed in 2021.

The safety board also revealed that the fitting installed in 1982 was the product of DuPont, a company that was listed in the federal government's list of pipe materials with “poor performance histories” in 2007 as they were known to crack after a period of use.

However, the fractured fitting was left untouched during utility work two years ago and remained connected to the natural gas system.

According to NBC News, lawyers for the victims' families were not consoled by the safety board's findings.

“It’s one thing to lose a family member because of some unforeseen, unknown hazard,” said attorney Robert Mongeluzzi, who has filed suit against Palmer, DuPont and UGI Corp., the natural gas utility that served the chocolate factory.

“But here, this was a problem and a defect that has been known for decades, and that makes the loss and the tragedy even worse," he continued.

The recent explosion follows another blast that occurred at the same factory in March where employees working in adjacent buildings told federal investigators that they could smell gas before the explosion.

Palmer has been blamed by its workers for ignoring their warnings of a gas leak, saying that the plant should have been evacuated before the disastrous explosion.

Although UGI, the factory's natural gas supplier, has denied any utility work in the area and did not detect a sudden surge in gas usage prior to the explosion, safety investigators are determined that the gas supplier replaced a service line at the Palmer plant in 2021, but left the decades-old service tee connected to the system and fully pressurized.

“We have reason to believe that UGI was very well aware of the dangerous, defective problems with the DuPont piping, yet left that DuPont piping in place in 2021,” said attorney Andrew Duffy, who works with Mongeluzzi to represent survivors and families of victims.

Noting the safety board also found a leak in the new piping, he added: “Seven people lost their lives due to shoddy materials and shoddy work.”

“We are not at a point to say what caused the explosion,” NTSB spokesperson Keith Holloway said Tuesday.

A steam line which allegedly also had a crack as per the investigator's findings, a condensate line and several pipelines carrying heated chocolate were all within two feet of the fractured fitting connecting the two plant buildings.

Meanwhile, UGI stated that it's cooperating and is aware of the safety board report but refused to give further comments on the ongoing investigation. 

“Our focus and commitment remain with the victims and the West Reading community,” said utility spokesperson Joe Swope.

Palmer said in a statement that it remains focused on rebuilding and “doing all we can to help the entire West Reading community recover," while, DuPont said it was revising the safety board findings but chose to remain silent further due to pending legal action.