The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the explosion aboard the barge IB1940was the company’s incomplete procedures that did not incorporate the safety instructions included in the Facility Operations Manual regarding the electrical bonding of air movers to barges, resulting in an unbonded air mover being operated in a cargo tank with residual acetone, thereby causing a static electrical discharge, which ignited flammable vapors in the tank.
No injuries or pollution were reported. The barge was declared a total constructive loss, valued at $1,750,000.