Sellier & Bellot Ammo Plant Explosion

[Artful]

http://bearingarms.com/one-killed-three-missing-sellier-bellot-ammo-plant-explosion/?utm_source=badaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

One Killed, Three Missing In Sellier & Bellot Ammo Plant Explosion (http://bearingarms.com/one-killed-three-missing-sellier-bellot-ammo-plant-explosion/)Posted by Bob Owens (http://bearingarms.com/author/bobowens-bearingarms/) on September 21, 2015 at 10:29 am

A news channel in the Czech Republic is reporting that one person is confirmed dead and three are missing as the result of a gunpowder explosion at the Sellier & Bellot ammunition plant in Vlasim, 60 kilometers (37 miles) southeast of Prague.

The Google machine translation of the article (http://zpravy.e15.cz/domaci/udalosti/zbrojovkou-sellier-bellot-otrasl-vybuch-nejmene-jeden-mrtvy-1228984) is an abomination, but from what we can determine, workers were moving gun powder from a production building to a storage facility when it detonated.

A specialized hazmat firefighting unit has been brought in the secure the scene so that rescue and recovery operations can proceed.

Sellier & Bellot have been in business since 1825, and the 1,400 employee company serves a global market of 80 countries, with two-thirds of their product going to the civilian ammunition market. Sellier & Bellot ammunition is popular among shooters in the United States. 30-percent of their civilian ammunition is sold to the United States.

It is unknown at this time how much damage was done to the facility, and how long the plant will be shut down.

The last fatal accident at this facility was in 2003, when mercury fulminate used in primers detonated, killing one employee and injuring another.

Ammunition plant explosions are thankfully rare and relatively small thanks to modern safety practices, but they still occur. An explosion in 2014 at PB Clarmont in Belgium (http://bearingarms.com/clearing-of-pb-clermont-site-continues-impact-of-explosion-ripples-through-ammunition-industry/) sent the entire global ammunition market scrambling for rifle powder, an effect which is finally starting to subside. Domestically, a Rio Ammunition (http://bearingarms.com/ammunition-plant-explosion-kills-one-injures-three-in-tennessee/) plant exploded near Nashville, TN last year, killing one employee and injuring three more.

[Pumpkinheaver]

Prayers for the dead and injured. Hope this doesn't get used as a spark for another panic buying spree.

[RogerDat]

Prayers for the dead and injured. Hope this doesn't get used as a spark for another panic buying spree.
Tough break for the workers, a risky way to make a living that is for sure. Reminder to us all to examine and maintain our safety practices.

Oh surely you jest. Of course it will. Bet cheaper than dirt is already increasing prices. Well at least they don't make .22 rim fire at S&B. Do they?

[fryboy]

ummm i copy paste "when mercury fulminate used.."

sad day my thoughts for the families and loved ones :(

panic buy ? perhaps some but since i rarely buy factory ammo what it should translate to us is that they have a bunch of brass with no powder so more brass on the market ( gotta look at the positives as well ;) )

[Tackleberry41]

Looking at the shelves at my LGS, if there suddenly wasnt anymore S&B ammo, it wouldn't make much difference. I remember when the Rio plant blew up here in TN. The LGS still has cases of Rio shells on the shelf.

[runfiverun]

I ain't buying that the gun powder 'blew up.'

[Maximumbob54]

My guess is their priming compound went up at some stage in the operation.

[leadman]

I bought some S&B primers from Cabela's a few days ago. 1K LR for $20. Bad news but hope the survivors heal quickly.

[mjwcaster]

Death toll up to 3
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/22/the-associated-press-death-toll-in-czech-ammunition-plant-explosion-reaches-3.html

[Bad Water Bill]

Several times when I was reloading my wife reminded me about how dangerous working in that industry was.

She was working at an ammo plant to pay her way thru college.

One day she was about 10 minutes late thank goodness.

The fire folks were carrying the burned remains of the crew she was supposed to work with and her boss said "they got the primer compound to hot".

Yes that was her last day there and who could blame her.

[runfiverun]

priming compound is a different matter and it's taken very seriously by the personnel where it's made.

years back I was out at ATK and doing some work in the part where they make the priming compound for federal.
[me and my B.I.L. both thought it was rocket fuel]
we started making little animals out of the putty like stuff in the bins there and placing them on the edge of the bins.
OMG!!! when the supervisor to the plant walked in he freaked out and evacuated the building.

I wonder how he would have reacted if he knew we had dis-abled the fire suppression system and was working up in the rafters replacing some of the system.

[OnHoPr]

@ r5r - Something tells me that maybe you have done some pretty wild things in your time.lol[smilie=1:

[fryboy]

you mean his "wild and crazy guy " avaatar didnt give it away :confused: lolz

[Rooster]

That is a GREAT story RR5! You do have all your fingers, right?

[OnHoPr]

Now I think I know who the real life character that Bill Murray played in Caddy Shack was portrayed from.

[TXGunNut]

Yes, a tragic reminder that we are using substances that can hurt or kill us. Very sad for the victims and their families and likely to be a hardship for more than a few folks who will be out of work until repairs are completed and machinery replaced and/or upgraded.
I suspect CTD's prices went up before the fire was out.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Tough break for the workers, a risky way to make a living that is for sure. Reminder to us all to examine and maintain our safety practices.

Oh surely you jest. Of course it will. Bet cheaper than dirt is already increasing prices. Well at least they don't make .22 rim fire at S&B. Do they?

very sad that people were injured and killed , but probably much less risky than a lot of other things people take for granted like driving to work

people seem to think that guns and gun powder are very dangerous yet totally ignore the real danger in life is more than likely driving to and from or for work than anything else you do at work.

[MT Chambers]

Cant be their primers, I couldn't get them to go off in my gun.

[MtGun44]

Mercury fulminate??? AFAIK, that hasn't actually been used in priming for about 100-120 years, anywhere.

Bill

[nicholst55]

very sad that people were injured and killed , but probably much less risky than a lot of other things people take for granted like driving to work

people seem to think that guns and gun powder are very dangerous yet totally ignore the real danger in life is more than likely driving to and from or for work than anything else you do at work.

People who handle explosives daily here at Yuma Proving Ground assure me that driving back and forth to work is by far the most dangerous thing that they do on a daily basis.


Mercury fulminate??? AFAIK, that hasn't actually been used in priming for about 100-120 years, anywhere.

Bill

My thoughts exactly! I'm very troubled by the fact that S&B was using mercury fulminate for anything!

[MtGun44]

Got to be an error, mercury fulminate ruins brass when fired. Also, toxic as mercury is released.

I seriously doubt that they were using it.