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UPDATED: Employee killed in blow tank explosion at Terrace Bay Pulp

A young worker is dead and two others were injured by an explosion at the Terrace Bay Pulp mill on Oct. 31. The two injured workers were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A young worker is dead and two others were injured by an explosion at the Terrace Bay Pulp mill on Oct. 31. The two injured workers were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The sixty-year-old mill in Terrace Bay, Ont., produces northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp.

Ontario Ministry of Labour spokesman Greg Dennis said it appears the explosion was in a blow tank, a large vessel into which the pulp is pumped when it exits the digester, CBC.ca reported on Nov. 1.

The Ministry of Labour, Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office, Coroner’s Office and the OPP are all investigating.

According to the Chronicle Journal, a local newspaper, union officials have been told the mill is likely to be shut down for the remainder of the week as the investigation continues.

The explosion sent metal and debris flying, and caused black smoke, but firefighters did not encounter any flames, reported the Chronicle Journal.

The Terrace Bay Pulp mill reopened in September 2010 after being closed for 19 months while its parent company was restructuring.