Explosion, Fire Damages Ohio Transformer Plant
Source The Akron Beacon Journal
Dec. 02--An explosion and fire Sunday afternoon rocked the Hydrodec North America transformer oil refining plant on Steinway Boulevard in Canton.
No injuries were reported and no neighborhood evacuations were needed, Canton police said. All employees were accounted for, said Canton police Lt. Dan McCartney.
The plant reprocesses used transformer oil collected from electric utilities. The company stores liquid hydrogen on site that is used in its refining process, according to Hydrodec documents on its website.
The explosion was called in shortly after 4 p.m. by a Canton police officer working in the area.
Fire personnel were still battling the fire as of 5:30 p.m.
The transformer oil processor is located in a largely industrial area of Canton.
The plant, at 2021 Steinway Blvd. SE, opened in 2008 and was designed to recycle used transformer oil into new oil that utilities can reuse.
At the time of its opening, the facility had 30 employees and was said to be the first of its kind in the United States with the capacity to recycle 8 million gallons of transformer oil per year.
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