West Reading, Pennsylvania – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been conducting a thorough investigation into the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. chocolate factory that tragically took the lives of seven workers. The blast, which occurred on March 24, 2023, led to an extensive search and rescue operation as emergency responders combed through the rubble to recover the victims.
Just recently, the NTSB made public its docket of investigatory materials, shedding light on the findings and evidence collected so far. The docket, which is available on the agency’s website, contains 151 entries, including interviews, lists of chemicals present in the building, fire drill records, and maintenance reports.
The preliminary report released in July by the NTSB pointed to a leak in a fitting on an out-of-use natural gas service line as the likely cause of the explosion. The report highlighted a service tee, installed in 1982 and retired in 2021, as the source of the leak. Despite being disconnected from the natural gas meter, the tee remained connected to the system at full pressure, developing cracks that led to a gas leak.
While the investigation does not specify what ignited the gas leak, it does present some potential sources, including the proximity of the leaking service tee to a steam line, condensate line, and heated chocolate pipelines. As of now, the NTSB has not provided a timeline for the release of the final report.
The public can access the full docket of investigatory material on the agency’s website to gain insights into the ongoing investigation. The site contains hundreds of pages of documents and dozens of photographs that provide a detailed account of the NTSB’s findings and progress in the case.