Talk:PEPCON disaster

Source of article

A lot of this article is taken word for word from the FEMA Report which I believe is in the public domain.

From the front page of the report: "This is Report 021 of the Major Fires Investigation Project conducted by TriData Corporation under contract EMW-8-4321 to the United States Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency." ... Based on this I would say that it is more likely than not that the report is NOT public domain and that we'll need to trash the bulk of the article. Only works produced by federal government employees as part of their work are PD, not generally works produced under contract. We need to contact FEMA to confirm and potentially take action. If it does turn out to be PD there are a number of good photographs inside that we could use. --Gmaxwell 15:28, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Cleanup Notes

I noticed the tone cleanup tag and investigated to find the reason it was marked. I found no history on who tagged this, nor when or why, all of which seems to violate the Wiki:Cleanup rules and procedures.

This topic was the focus of a "Modern Marvels" episode on the History Channel this evening, and both presentations appear to be in agreement with each other.

The article seems to conform to the NPOV criteria. If there is a style problem, then it must be identified in a specific manner that can be addressed. Kenny56 04:17, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Spike TV

Go to www.spiketv.com to see the show called World's Scariest Explosions caught on tape shown on 2-5-06. This disaster is featured in that show. It shows a BIG hole being blown into the desert floor when the plant detonated. Martial Law 05:11, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

History Channel

the History channel will feature this in a show called Shockwave, which this matter is featured. This should be noted. Airtime is 8pm-9pm CST this Friday. 65.163.115.114 (talk) 06:35, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Cause

It is rumored, yet not the cause of this, that it is from: " Someone smoking in the place. See above show. 65.163.115.114 (talk) 06:36, 7 December 2007 (UTC)"

A welder working without "adequate" fire-watch and the presence of ammonium perchlorate powder/dust ALL over the place, high winds contributed some as well. This oxidizer is extremely volatile and in certain instances can be ignited by something as minimal as friction created by pantlegs bottoms brushing together when walking. This info comes directly from former employees who were working for and at the facility at the time of the incident, and personal experience with the powdered substance in another facility while working on a batch-mixer. And what exactly WOULD be adequate fire-watch in a ROCKET FUEL PLANT, anyway?

Two Victims

According the the FEMA Report the two victums were the man who called the fire department and an employee in a wheelchair. However, on Discovery Channel's "Blueprint for Disaster: Destruction in the Desert", an episode on the PEPCON disaster, two former employee's state that the two vitims were the man who called the fire department and another man who was watching the fire and ignored their requests for him to leave, with no mention of him being in a wheelchair.

It seems clear that there were two victims at the plant, but doesn't the discussion of the video also mention a third victim, a driver killed when his car was hit by the shock wave from one of the explosions? ("In the video of the incident, the resultant shockwave struck a nearby highway, where it blasted a car off its wheels, killing the driver within.") — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.87.137.103 (talk) 09:45, 24 March 2016 (UTC)

Historical Correction:

Western Electrochemical Company (WECCO) started perchlorate production in 1941 in Los Angeles. WECCO closed its Los Angeles plant in 1948. All its operations were transferred to Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1952. Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation was located in Henderson, Nevada. This plant began production of perchlorates for the United States Navy in May 1945 under operation of WECCO. In 1955, WECCO merged with American Potash and Chemical Company (AP & CC). Kerr-McGee acquired the AP & CC plant in 1967 and in 1997 announced the sale of its ammonium perchlorate business to American Pacific Corporation (AMPAC). The Henderson plant produced sodium perchlorate, potassium perchlorate, ammonium perchlorate and magnesium perchlorate. PEPCON began sodium and ammonium perchlorate production in 1958 at its Henderson, Nevada, facility. PEPCON merged with AMPAC in 1982. The 1988 explosion closed the plant

Estimated size of explosions?

Has anyone published estimates of the sizes of the explosions? I'm curious how they compare to nuclear blasts in terms of megatons of TNT. --63.105.26.46 19:01, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

According to DamnInteresting the larger one was around 1 kiloton. -Interested2 20:23, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Windows getting blown out at 3 miles means about 5 kilotons, while 1.5 mile structural damage and plane being buffeted at 7 miles points toward 10-20 kilotons. Unless these distances are wildly exaggerated 250 tons is way too low of an estimate. I saw the video and it definitely looked like a kiloton range blast. When thinking about the yield I always think of the 'estimated' and 'approximately' qualifiers used regarding the amount of chemicals stored at the site in every article I have read and video I have seen about this event. -vman 06:52, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

"Damages to the surrounding community were surveyed and interpreted as airblast overpressures versus distances, which allowed an estimate of 1-kiloton nuclear free-air-burst for the equivalent explosion yield. This could be reproduced by 250-tons TNT burst on the ground surface" from the Sandia National Labs report. Jamesday 03:06, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

Removed footnote tag

I've made extensive edits to the article and provided the proper sources, so as a result I am removing the footnote tag. Aplomado ^talk 22:56, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

Coordinate error

{{geodata-check}}

The following coordinate fixes are needed for PEPCON disaster

36.036740,-115.036906 is more accurate. 

See http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA396009&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf See page 45. The map inidcates the plant & explosions were close to the rail line, not American Pacific Drive. I used ArcMap to register the map on page 45 to a BING map background to get the location of the large explosion, using the branch of the rail lines on the left, and the 100M scale bar for size. The north arrow on the map is incorrect and is really pointing more NNE.

—144.166.176.190 (talk) 23:06, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

 Done. Deor (talk) 11:58, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Major Edit Needed

ADDED 27 May 13 (Post Edit) I am not a veteran of the process so please bear with me and let me know if more is required. The following are notes

1. The US Dept of Labor (Luzik) reference is key. I do not find it on the web but I have it in PDF. 2. Same for the 1956 invoice. 3. US Govt direction to PEPCON comes directly from the source (AMPAC, parent to PEPCON). 4. Nevada Natural Gas Pipeline Company installed the 16 inch pipe under the PEPCON property just prior to its construction. 5. AP was stored in plastic drums pre 1985. Aluminum bins for final shipping were customer owned. 6. Bruce Halker was not in a wheelchair and never used one. He had been with PEPCON for 30 years. This is confirmed with multiple people who worked with him. I did not know where that came from. 7. Roy Westerfield had polio as a child and moved slowly but did not use a wheelchair either (earlier reports from 1988-1990 kept reciting this error). 8. The USDOL language are direct quotes from the report. 9. Evidence that the first explosion (or detonation) was in the aluminum bin north of the batch dryer was confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses. 10. I have the map that showed inventory quantity on 5-4-88. The reported value was 10,312,000 lbs but that included some product in liquid form. 4500 metric tons is a reasonable number and is not changed. 11. There was plenty of property insurance coverage. The liability insurance coverage policy allowed for a more substantial contribution. 12. The name change from PEPCON to WECCO was driven by the lender (bank) out of a desire to separate the entity in litigation from the new entity. Otherwise, PEPCON would stil be used. 13.

I am planning to make significant changes including A. Facts about plant (did more than make AP), B. US Govt direction after Challenger accident and Disaster (the truth is that the US Govt directed PEPCON to store AP in their aluminum (customer owned) bins at the PEPCON site. The govt owned that product. C. Use of plastic drums (their use was well before the Challenger accident, not because PEPCON ran out of storage space in alum bins), D. Cause of the fire, which was never conclusive (the proper positioning of the welders-as-cause theory, citation of 2-3 other theories about cause including equip malfunction, natural gas, smoking). The objective represenative citation, I believe, is the US Govt. DOSH report (Lusik), E. Correction to the description of Bruce Halker's physical condition, F. data on the gas line (the 1956 invoice description), G. insurance coverage of PEPCON (contribution was well above $1M to PEPCON), H. Other (how much AP was left on site after the fire (significant), correct yields of the detonations, correct number of detonations (vs. pressur releases), etc. My profile should make this more transparent and the intent is not to be argumentative or biased, only to be fatual and to level the field. I have access to a vault of information on this incident generated between 1988 and 1992 in 200 banker boxes in Las Vegas, NV USA. I am planning to insert a fraction of what could be included for the sake of brevity. I do have a large collection of images that might be additive (for example, shots of the plant prior to the accident, other photos during the incident as interesting as the Todd video, site photos showing the destruction, craters, mounds of ammonium perchlorate still on site, etc). That would be for later phases if of interest. I am open to suggestions. Desert1680 (talk) 04:15, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for the detailed list, Desert1680. You evidently have a lot of knowledge on this issue. However, our verifiability and original research policies require that any information added to the article be previously published in a reliable source. Information that is not previously published can be removed. Since you state on your user page that you still work for American Pacific Corporation (the parent company), your best bet is probably to get the company to publish some kind of historical archive. Anything they publish would probably be considered a reliable source (though with the normal caveats that participants in the events often have a different viewpoint than others, so this would of course not be the only source considered, per our neutral point of view policy).

Also, the original research policy does not apply to images. So you welcome to upload photographs (e.g. photos of the plant before the incident), if you own the copyright. (If you took the photo as part of your job, the company may own it as a work for hire, in which case you need their permission. If you scan documents or photos, the original copyright applies, so you need to investigate if the original document is public domain or appropriately licensed). Thanks again.

P.S. Regarding the wheelchair, of the sources I've seen so far the United States Fire Administration report (cited in the article) does say (p. 6), "One of these victims stayed behind to call the Clark County Fire Department and the other was confined to a wheelchair and was unable to leave the area.", though it doesn't say which one is which and I realize this conflicts with your information. Superm401 - Talk 07:05, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

9 November 2014. Thank you for your comments, Superm401. I have reviewed and understand your points on no original research, verifiability and a neutral point of view. My May 2013 edits were transparent and I believe consistent with these concepts and all can be verified if challenged. I will attempt to enhance the reliable source nature on those statements attributed to reference 5 (primary source/witnesses, AMPAC), some of which corrected statements with no attribution. A historical archive by AMPAC as you suggested will be considered. The Bruce Halker alleged to be wheelchair issue is very important and can be resolved, if the current corrected content is challenged, given the multiple primary sources available. This issue was a primary trigger for my editing in 2013, just after the 25th anniversary of the accident, when local Las Vegas, Nevada USA media (TV) stated incorrectly that Mr. Halker, the plant manager, was in a wheel chair and could not evacuate. It appeared that the Wikipedia site was the source for these statements since they were almost identical to the Wikipedia site content in early May 2013, pre edit, which had the uncited and incorrect statement that Mr. Halker specifically used a wheelchair which impeded his ability to evacuate. Multiple current and former AMPAC employees comprise multiple primary sources (witnesses) to the fact that he was healthy and ran on the day of the accident at one point to view the fire in early stages. Whereas Wikipedia states that most newspaper articles and reports are "reliable" sources in general, we found out, between May 5, 1988 well into 1991, that such reports can be in error on questions of fact (excluding the subjective area of cause). The correction of these kinds of errors was an on going challenge, which was sometimes successful and sometimes not, the latter resulting in a perpetuation of incorrect information.

The US Fire Administration report's statement in two places (pg 6 that you point out and page 17) about the 2nd fatality, which apparently had to be a reference to Mr. Halker based on public records, being a person confined to a wheel chair who could not leave, is also incorrect. The primary AMPAC sources (witnesses) to refute this include multiple current and former employees, the Director of Human Resources who knew Halker for 20 years, the former CEO who employed Mr. Halker from the late 1950's to the date of the accident, statements by witnesses on the day of the accident as to what Mr. Halker did, so that the existing characterization is verifiable through sworn affidavits, if necessary. It is unclear why the Fire Department included this information in their report. They did interview certain individuals post incident. Mr. Westerfield, the Controller who called the Fire Department during the fire, had polio as a youngster and moved around slowly but he was not in a wheel chair based on multiple primary sources and drove his own car. Why he did not evacuate will never be known. According to primary sources, Mr. Halker was last seen alive standing next to his car north of the fire spreading near the administration building, with people yelling at him to move further out, when the first large detonation occurred, which he did not survive. One first hand witness, Mr. D. Thayer, was one of several who yelled at Mr. Halker to move further back right before the first very large explosion, which knocked Mr. Thayer across a parking lot approximately 125 feet north of Mr. Halker. He also identified Mr. Halker's body for the Fire Department hours later and remains an employee of AMPAC to this day, and can verify this characterization.

I believe all of the edits I made have reliably sourced citations (both reference 5 and other published 3rd party sources) and all statements can be verified if challenged by sworn affidavit or other or primary sources (witnesses). The cited statements on other aspects beyond Halker's physical condition represent a majority viewpoint, not a tiny minority one, as cautioned in the verifiability and neutrality guidance. We have retained significant hard copy records of hundreds of newspaper articles by the two major Las Vegas newspapers between May 5, 1988 and several years thereafter that will be reviewed to augment the record if appropriate.

In addition to newspaper sources, I will locate a few other photos to upload that might add to the content as you have suggested, beyond the one image shown. I hope that you and those who edit this site understand the importance to AMPAC that statements of fact made on this site, consistent with the rules on verifiability, neutrality, and original research, do not deviate from first person witnesses (primary sources, AMPAC employees) since they lived through this accident and were most directly impacted. Thank you. Desert1680 (talk) 04:12, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

@Desert1680: Thanks for your reply. As you point out, there was no source stating that Bruce Halker used a wheelchair before your edit (it was specifically tagged as needing a citation). Thus, you were justified in removing that statement because it was unverified. I understand your point that you know people who have personal recollections of these events. However, our policy that all information must be previously published still applies. I am glad to hear you're looking into the idea of AMPAC publishing an archive/history page. I will not remove information supported only by personal recollection immediately, but it may be removed in the future (it is tagged as original research).

P.S. I agree it's strange that the fire company put that in if it's not accurate, but as you note it is not sufficient to support the previous statement (since it doesn't way which employee was in the wheelchair). That USFA article was probably published well before Wikipedia even existed (it shows a modification date of 1999, which is probably the scan date meaning it was likely written even earlier), so they could not have plagiarized from Wikipedia even had they wanted to. Superm401 - Talk 06:15, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

appears to contradict itself about the TNT-equivalent size of the explosions

In one paragraph: "The combined explosions released estimated energy of approximately 1.0 kilotons of TNT according to one source"

Later in the article: "An investigation estimated that the larger explosion was equivalent to about one kiloton of TNT..." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.60.184.146 (talk) 18:55, 29 June 2013 (UTC)

Moved from top of page

I, Jason Halker, son of Greg Halker, grandson of Bruce Halker would like to clarify that Bruce was not in a wheel chair at the time of the accident nor at anytime prior to the accident.— Preceding unsigned comment added by JasonHalker (talk • contribs) 00:27, 23 March 2015‎

Mover of statement 220 of ^Borg 13:57, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

Disaster?

What makes this a "disaster"? Only two people died. There are more deadly industrial accidents which are not referred to as "disasters". I do not like this modern trend of labelling every minor incident as a "disaster" and think the article would be better named "PEPCON explosion". Buttons0603 (talk) 15:43, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

A reasonable idea. Want to start a formal WP:MOVEREQ? DMacks (talk) 17:35, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

An accident becomes a disaster when there is significant loss or life OR property. While only two people died, there were 372 reported injuries. Additionally, the property damage was estimated to be roughly $100MM. Adjusted for inflation (2018), that's ~$213.7MM. An industrial accident may be deadly, but not necessarily affect the surrounding community in a significant way. It is the significant impact to a surrounding community that qualifies an event as a disaster. Oxcart2006 (talk) 20:01, 25 November 2018 (UTC)

The plant was not in Henderson

The plant was located near, but not in, Henderson. The property was later annexed. This should be clarified. GA-RT-22 (talk) 12:53, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

Do you have a reliable source that can verify this? - Aoidh (talk) 13:15, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

The NASA report says "PEPCON operated in Clark County, NV, 10 miles southeast of Las Vegas, NV, near Henderson" [1]. Do you have a source that says it was in Henderson? There isn't one cited in the article. GA-RT-22 (talk) 13:53, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

As far as contemporary reporting at the time which would be more accurate if you're suggesting the information has subsequently changed, there's this government report from Sandia National Laboratories as well as this report from OSTI, both published the year the incident occurred. A NASA PDF saying (24 years later) that the plant was "near" the city doesn't mean it was outside of the city's boundaries, just that it wasn't within the city proper, nor does that PDF support the idea that the property was later annexed into the city itself. - Aoidh (talk) 14:05, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

I’m looking at the exact spot marked in the interactive map under “Fires and Explosions”, the spot marked is a parking lot in the middle of a very dense section of city. It doesn’t match the video in the slightest, as the video shows a large, open desert with no buildings very close to the explosions. 99.48.52.156 (talk) 04:41, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

While it's possible that the spot marked is inaccurate, that doesn't appear to be the case. It's worth noting that this incident happened in 1988 and an area on the outskirts of an American city experiencing rapid growth can change dramatically over 35 years. I checked on Google Earth Pro's historical imagery of the site and in 1985 (the closest time to the incident) it indeed was a small cluster of buildings surrounded by desert; the next closest building that I could clearly make out was about a mile away. - Aoidh (talk) 05:02, 13 January 2024 (UTC)