Asked about specifics of what was currently being investigated by OSHA subsequent to the fatal accident at the foundry, the agency declined to elaborate; simply stating the matter was under investigation.

"Because OSHA is investigating Tec-Cast right now, we cannot comment on specifics because it may jeopardize the integrity of the investigation," said OSHA Region 3 assistant regional director of public affairs, Alisha Brown.

Serious violations

According to OSHA records, since 1998, the site has only been inspected twice and each garnered Tec-Cast a slew of violations and subsequent fines. Asked why more frequent inspections are not administered on Tec-Cast, Brown said it’s due to pure volume. OSHA is responsible for the inspection of seven million facilities nationwide.

"In regards to Tec-Cast, OSHA doesn’t have a set plan on how many times it is inspected…what prompts an investigation is an employee complaint, a catastrophe or by referral," said Brown.

In 1998, according to OSHA enforcement records, Tec-Cast was slapped with 17 violations, seven of which resulted in the levying of $6,000 in fines. The violations ranged from improper eye and face protection to improper permits for confined space and faults in the design and construction of exit routes. All were deemed serious, which under OSHA is deemed as "a violation where there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and that the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard." On Jan. 4 this year, Tec-Cast was fined once again, this time approximately $4,000 following an inspection last November where inspectors issued five serious violations including the one major one that garnered the fine, a lack of proper barrier between workers and machines.

Most recent mishap turned serious

The incident that took place Jan. 15 at the aluminum cast foundry on Meadow Lane had left 60-year-old maintenance supervisor Mario Gomez of Jersey City dead and nine others seeking treatment at two area hospitals. Three were sent off in ambulances in critical condition, one with a severe laceration to the head.

Police received a 911 call at approximately 8:10 a.m. from Tec-Cast, Inc., located at 440 Meadow Lane for what was first assumed a steam explosion at the business. Upon arrival, police found frightened employees standing outside and within, Gomez of Jersey City dead from blunt trauma to the abdomen and head. Nine other employees suffered injuries ranging from severe lacerations and broken bones to minor abrasions, cuts and bruises.

According to Carlstadt police Captain Frank Smith, there were approximately 45 workers in the Tec-Cast warehouse at the time of the incident. At that time, Smith said Gomez and other employees were performing maintenance on a seal on a door to a pressurized air vat that is used to mold castings. Smith described the machine as one in which castings are inserted and molten metal is poured in while the compressed air creates a vacuum, stimulating the cast’s molecules for better adhesion. While the maintenance was being performed, built-up air pressure from inside caused the four by four-foot steel cast door to come off its hinges and shoot into Gomez’s abdomen, propelling him nearly 30 feet. Others were injured by the same door and by pieces that were broken off during the explosion.

It was unclear if the machine was operating at the time of maintenance or if procedurally, the air compression should have been shut off during repair.

"We don’t know the number of personnel that were actually working on the maintenance of the seal, but most that were injured were hit with pieces that flew off from the air compression buildup," said Smith. Smith likened the scene as shrapnel shooting off.

For those working in the heavily concentrated industrial section of town around Tec-Cast, the sound of the explosion reverberated, many wondering if it was their own building that had sustained the incident.

"I came in just after it happened and my workers in the back said there had just been a big explosion…they said the whole building rocked and those employees work in the back, probably 50 yards away from the place," said Rich Wolfin, owner of Textol Systems, a business situated directly across the street from Tec-Cast. "I feel terribly for these people, they are friends. Co-workers of the injured just came running out hysterically."

Brad Morris, a shipping and receiving employee for Textol said he thought a truck had backed into his building with such force that it may have lost its breaks. That’s when he said he went outside to see the Tec-Cast employees frantically fleeing their building.

"They were crying and frantic, I saw some falling to the ground, I think they had fainted," said Morris.

The scene after the incident was dismal for scores of employees of the business that were forced to stand outside the building as they watched stretcher upon stretcher file into their workplace to remove injured fellow co-workers from inside. Some were teary eyed and visibly in shock. Others appeared as they had bypassed professional medical help; one man pulling his pants up to reveal bandages on both knees. Most employees did not speak English, but one did her best to describe the situation, "It was real loud, we ran," said one female employee. Others refused to talk to the media about what happened inside. Many were ushered back inside for a brief period before heading to their cars to go home for the day. Calls after the incident to Tec-Cast’s office were not immediately returned.

By 9:20 a.m., emergency crews from Moonachie, East Rutherford, Wood-Ridge and Carlstadt were all on the scene as well as police from Bergen County and the Bergen County HazMat team and Office of Emergency Management.

Gomez leaves behind a wife and four children. He worked at Tec-Cast for 15 years. Brown said it is unclear now how long it will take OSHA to release its findings on what had specifically gone wrong during last week’s catastrophe.