Chemical blasts at Connecticut environmental facility injure 3

A series of chemical explosions at an environmental service facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Friday sent three people to the hospital.

The blasts went off at the Tradebe USA  building at 1:54 p.m., the Bridgeport Emergency Operations Center said in a Facebook post.

At around that time, a delivery driver arrived with 4,000 gallons of an unspecified oxidizer. Oxidizers are chemicals that, while not necessarily flammable themselves, are added to other substances to make them susceptible to fire.

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City officials said the process of delivering the oxidizer sparked the explosions.

“As of now, we know there was a delivery of a low-grade oxidizer, about 4,000 gallons. It appears the driver opened one of the valves and there was a large explosion, which triggered multiple smaller explosions,” Bridgeport Director of Emergency Management Scott Appleby told the Connecticut Post.

The explosions sparked a three-alarm fire. Of the three unidentified victims, one was hospitalized for burns and the other two for smoke inhalation, the Bridgeport EOC said.

Two of the three victims were released from the hospital Friday night, while the other remained hospitalized as of Saturday morning, Mr. Appleby said. Authorities have not said whether the victims were bystanders or Tradebe employees.

In a statement to local NBC station WVIT-TV, a Tradebe spokesperson said, “We are cooperating and working closely with first responders and regulators.”

Air quality was determined to be safe and a temporary evacuation radius was lifted Friday night, but runoff into local waterways remains a concern.

“Water runoff is being constantly monitored, and the public has been advised that due to high PH levels that fishing in nearby brooks should not occur. Once levels reach a lower level, fishing in nearby brooks could continue,” Mr. Appleby told the Hartford Courant.