Two burned in industrial accident

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Two employees reportedly have burns to their faces, hands and arms after a shredder machine malfunctioned at a recycling plant at 15508 Bratton Lane, near Grand Avenue in the Wells Branch area of North Travis County.

"Came out as a structure fire, then -- en route -- we got updates that there was a building that had an explosion on the inside," said Pflugerville Fire Department Lt. Tim Wallace.

Some 25 firefighters from Austin and Pflugerville were called to the scene after a small flash explosion, which was believed to come from dust collecting inside one of the shredder machines.

"From the fire side, what we know about dust is that dust at a fine particle can be a very combustible material, especially with metal," said Wallace. "What we can confirm is that there's dust inside the machine. That's what we're going to check. We're going to make sure the dust is properly removed like it should be so we don't have this problem again."

The business is Electronic Recycling and Trading Incorporated, a company that employs about 100 workers and takes electronics and shreds them into smaller parts to be later separated into plastics, metals and toxic materials.

The workers were initially taken to St. David's Hospital in Round Rock for treatment. Injuries were reported to be minor and not life-threatening. They were reportedly burned after the flash explosion. It was not an intense explosion because the machine still remains intact.

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services workers said the call came in at 2:40 p.m.

According to a press release from the company, both workers were later taken to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for burn injury treatment.

Company officials issued a statement late Tuesday that said the employees who sustained injuries were temporary workers.

“Our primary concern is our employees and for anyone who enters our facility. That is why we take all of our health and safety policies seriously. It is the top priority for our business,” said Ken Jaross, president of ERT.

The exact cause of the explosion could not be determined by Travis County Emergency Service District No. 2 or by Pflugerville Fire Department.

"We are very proud that all of our workers were quick to follow their emergency training and procedures, and evacuated the building and met at their assigned evacuation rallying points," said Jaross.

After fire crews inspected the building, they said it was safe for employees to re-enter.

While workers were sent home for the day, ERT management and staff stayed to discuss any after-action activities and to assist the Occupational Safety and Health Administration while it conducted its own inspection.