PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A federal safety board has released its final report on the chocolate factory explosion in West Reading that killed seven people in March 2023, along with new safety recommendations.
In Tuesday’s report, the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed its previous assessment: that the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Company factory in West Reading was caused by a degraded, retired pipe fitting known as a service tee owned by UGI Corporation that leaked natural gas. However, officials could not determine what ignited it. They’ve deemed the explosion accidental.
The board issued safety recommendations as a result of the investigation to a number of entities, including regulatory bodies, state governments, UGI and the R.M. Palmer Company.
NTSB recommended the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration advising the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to take stock of plastic assets, and mitigate potential exposure to heat due to its role in this blast. It also made a similar recommendation to UGI.
The board said all states should install natural gas alarms in buildings that host large crowds, and that Pennsylvania should force all owners of high-temperature pipelines in public rights-of-way to register with PA One Call.
NTSB also says UGI should assess the heat risk of all its plastic natural gas assets, and R.M. Palmer should direct all employees to immediately evacuate to a specific location upon smelling gas, as employees told federal investigators they could smell gas before the blast.
The March 24, 2023, explosion killed seven people, injured 10 more, and displaced three families. The $42 million in damage included the destruction of one R.M. Palmer building, and severe damage to another of the company’s buildings and a nearby apartment building.