4 injured in Middleton Bostik plant explosion

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MIDDLETON, Mass. -- A chemical plant exploded Sunday evening, shaking nearby homes, injuring four people and raising concerns about water and air safety.

The explosion rocked the Bostik Chemical Plant in Middleton just before 8 p.m. Sunday. Bostik manufactures plastics and adhesives. The explosion rocked the facility and surrounding neighborhoods.

“Sitting there, all of a sudden - boom - an explosion” said Charlie Veradt, who heard the explosion. “I knew right off the bat that it was down the street.”

“About 7:30 and we were sitting having dinner and then all of the sudden we thought the house was caving in,” said Joyce Cucchiara, who lives near the explosion. “It was just unbelievable.”

Neighbors said it sounded like a sonic boom that people felt for miles.

“It sounded like an earthquake or something. That’s how bad it was,” said Joe Vieira. “It was a big boom.”

“And the house really shook. It was real loud. The dog went wild,” said one man.

Troopers from The State Fire Marshal's Office have been interviewing witnesses, including the four injured employees who were on site at the plant Monday after being decontaminated and treated at Beverly Hospital.

“We are now entering a secondary phase of the investigation, which is the examination of the fire building itself,” said Steve Coan, Mass. State Fire Marshal.

They’re gathering physical evidence, but so far investigators haven’t made any conclusion about the cause. The fire chief says Bostik has been a good neighbor.

“They’ve had an excellent safety record,” said the fire chief.

Bostik even hosted a hazardous materials drill eight months ago. But Chief Twiss’ department has recorded complaints from some in the area who said a bad smell emanating from the plant bothered them, and some even felt nose and eye irritation.

“We had a third party come in, interview the people that had the complaints and they did their own odor monitoring in the area and we’re in the middle of that investigation,” said Rich Dautilio, Bostik General Manager. “They haven’t pinpointed anything particular at this point yet.”

There are some environmental concerns, and MassDEP was on site. Experts took samples from the Ipswich River, which is adjacent to the plant. They’ve also tested the air for contaminants.

“The air looks good. So far the water - we only found traces of organic compounds,” said Kingsley Ndi of MassDEP. “I think we’re pretty lucky.”

Hazardous-materials and environmental protection teams were called to monitor the quality of the air and water because of runoff into the neighborhood around the plant, where several homes have wells.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating. The US Chemical Safety Board officials were on the scene Monday trying to determine the cause of the blast.

(Copyright (c) 2011 Sunbeam Television. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)