The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has released a safety video on the massive explosion in Danver, Mass., on November 22, 2006, after 18 months of investigation. "Blast Wave in Danvers" uses 3-D animation to show the events leading up to the explosion at the CAI Ink manufacturing facility and the blast wave that followed, along with comments from the affected residents.

The video also shows how a critical steam valve used to control the temperature of a 2,000-gallon batch of flammable solvents inside an ink-making process vessel was left open by a production supervisor. The solvents boiled and flammable vapor escaped from the unsealed process vessel in to the facility, which was not ventilated at night. This led to the flammable vapors accumulating over several hours until they finally reached an ignition source.

"The safety video clearly illustrates how the lack of checklists, automatic shutoff systems, process controls and hazard analyses can lead to a catastrophic chemical accident," said SSB chairman John Bresland. "Together with the Massachussets state and local officials and residents who appeared in the video, we share the hope that this accident and the resulting investigations will pave the way for improved public safety in the future."