Explosion at AERT plant knocks out power, injures 1

The Associated Press

SPRINGDALE — An explosion at Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc. in Springdale hurt one person and knocked out power to the area near the manufacturing plant.

The blast occurred at about 8 a.m. Wednesday and scattered debris around the plant, which recycles plastic and produces composite products for decking and other building materials.

A company spokesman said one person sustained a minor injury and was treated at a hospital.

The blast appeared to have damaged the top of a silo. SWEPCO electric utility said service was interrupted to about 750 customers.

AERT did not identify the cause of the blast.

In 1996, there were two fires at the Springdale plant, both of which were ruled arson. The company’s corporate headquarters in Springdale burned in April 1994 and a Junction City, Texas, plant burned twice in 1993 and again in 2003.

The company has acknowledged that it is at risk of fire.

“Fire disruptions may adversely affect our ability to operate our business,” AERT wrote in a regulatory filing earlier this year. “Our raw materials and manufacturing processes involve a greater than average risk of fire loss or disruption.”

The filing goes on to note that several previous AERT fires severely disrupted manufacturing operations.

“Although we have increased security and increased fire protection equipment at our facilities, another major fire could occur and materially adversely affect our operations,” the company wrote.