Bostik Settles for $600K Fine on 2011 Explosion

Federal safety officials announced Thursday they had reached a settlement with Bostik for $600,000 in fines for the in March 2011 and injured four workers.

The Boston Road plant is located right across from the end of Russell Street in West Peabody and right near the town lines on Main Street in Lynnfield and with North Reading -- the Sunday evening explosion rocked nearby houses and was heard and felt across the North Shore.

Bostik was originally fined last fall for $917,000 after a six-month investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found numerous safety violations, but that fine has now been reduced.

OSHA cited Bostik for violations of federal safety requirements and procedures employers must follow to "proactively address hazards associated with processes and equipment involving large amounts of hazardous chemicals," according to the Department of Labor.

The DOL says Bostik has taken corrective action to address the problems and no longer uses the direct solvation process that led to the explosion at the Middleton facility.

"This resolution speeds corrective action that might otherwise have been delayed through lengthy litigation," said Michael Felsen, the DOL's regional solicitor in Boston, in a statement.

"Just as important, the settlement commits Bostik to strengthening its PSM program to prevent the possibility of a similar incident in the future, and to apprise us of its progress in abating the hazards," added Jeffrey Erskine, OSHA's area director for northeastern Massachusetts.