All that is left of a Decaturville, Tenn biodiesel plant is "smoldering metal" after an explosion and fire leveled the place. This is no surprise considering the production of this "green" fuel requires large amounts of highly flammable and toxic methanol, in addition to caustic chemicals. Making biodiesel also produces hazardous waste by-products. This explosion and a recent explosion in a residential garage in the UK, used to produce homemade biodiesel, should be a warning to those considering biodiesel - it is not as safe or as green as one might be led to believe. "We had a lot of methanol, unused methanol that they used in the process," said Decatur County Fire Chief Kenny Fox. "We had some acid products." The reason the methanol was unused is because the plant had been shut for the last four months because it has not been profitable to produce biodiesel for some time. Thankfully, the plant was closed and nobody was hurt.Read more about this and other related stories http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=8849949
Three injuried in biodiesel plant explosion
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/04/three-injured-in-defiance-ohio-biodiesel-plant-explosion/
One dead after biodiesel plant explosion
http://wjz.com/local/bio.diesel.plant.2.726871.html
