Investigation Finds Root Cause of November Incident

Grand View, Idaho (August 12, 2019) – An eight month investigation has revealed that non-conforming waste in the treatment process led to the tragic incident on November 17, 2018 at US Ecology’s Grand View, ID stabilization facility. US Ecology issued a summary of the final report which features the work of third-party expert investigators specializing in this type of incident.

“This investigation confirms what we suspected early on, that we received a shipment of non-conforming waste that included material that was not supposed to be part of the approved waste stream,” said Jeff Feeler, US Ecology Chairman, President and CEO. “It is good to understand the root cause of the incident and we are focusing on steps we can take to eliminate any future incidents.”

Thousands of data points and analytical samples were collected as part of the investigation process. The findings reveal that the explosion was caused by a chemical reaction between water, magnesium, and the presence of non-conforming materials. It was determined that the catastrophic damage was caused by a steam explosion and was not the result of a flammable or combustible dust environment.

“The regulatory agencies are in the process of going through our final report and we want to provide the agencies with adequate time to review and digest the findings,” said Feeler. “Although it is good to have determined the root cause, it is important to remember that members of our US Ecology family suffered physical and emotional injuries, and a valued employee lost his life. We remain focused on supporting our valued team members as we move forward with rebuilding efforts.”