The 316 stainless steel pressure vessel involved had been moved into the Commonwealth of Kentucky approximately ten years prior to the accident. The vessel had originally been used as an atmospheric vessel in the manufacture of ammonium bisulfite, a raw material for caramel color, and later converted to be used as a pressurized unit. The tanks were operated at atmospheric pressure and were equipped with pressure relief devices at the time.
Catastrophic failure of non-coded pressure vessel (Fatal)
