On a JCI Biomass plant explosion
By Wayne Washington – wwashington@thestate.com
By Wayne Washington
COLUMBIA —
On June 28, 2009, an explosion rocked the biomass-fueled power plant on the campus of the University of South Carolina .
The force of the blast sent a metal panel some 60 feet toward the control office of the plant at Whaley and Sumter streets, according to documents obtained from USC through a Freedom of Information Act request.
No one was hurt, but USC officials were concerned enough about the “potentially lethal accident” that they ordered an independent safety review and, in a strongly worded letter to the company that had built the plant, made it clear that university staff would not be allowed back into the building until the review was completed.