Danvers blast could have been avoided

BOSTON. The November 2006 explosion that destroyed a Danvers neighborhood could have been avoided if the ink factory on site had employed simple safeguards such as alarms and automatic shutoffs, according to final report released yesterday by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB).

The 105-page report detailed how flammable solvents in a mixing tank at CAI Inc. overheated when an operator likely left open a steam heat valve before leaving for the day. With the ventilation system shut down for the night, flammable vapor built up for hours, the report said.

The vapor and thousands of gallons of flammable liquids stored there ignited at 2:45 a.m. on Nov. 22, causing a blast that tore through the adjacent Danversport neighborhood. Dozens of homes were damaged — 16 beyond repair — but miraculously, nobody was seriously hurt.

“The community damage was the worst we have seen in the 10-year history of the Chemical Safety Board,” said board member William Wright. “This explosion had a serious potential for life-threatening injuries and fatalities.”

Six homes remain unoccupied.

The report also noted that state laws requiring fire inspections do not define how often they should occur, and that the plant had not been inspected in over four years.